Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol To Ethanol

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Senior Design Reports (CBE)

University of Pennsylvania Year 2009
Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol to Ethanol

Chloe LeGendre
University of Pennsylvania
Eric Logan
Jordan Mendel
Tamara Seedial
This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/cbe sdr/5
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial
Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol to Ethanol

Senior Design Project
Chloe LeGendre Eric Logan Jordan Mendel Tamara Seedial
Submitted to: Professor Leonard Fabiano Professor Warren Seider April 6, 2009
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering CBE 459 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department University of Pennsylvania
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Professor Leonard Fabiano Professor Warren Seider Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104 April 6, 2009 Dear Professor Fabiano and Professor Seider, Contained within this report is the design of a process to convert crude glycerol to ethanol for fuel consumption via the anaerobic fermentation of the feedstock by a wild strain of the microorganism Escherichia coli. As suggested by industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana (DuPont),
we have designed a plant to produce 50 MM gallons of denatured fuel ethanol annually using a combination of batch fermentation and continuous processing.
The plant design that we suggest is comprised of a continuous feed preparation section, a batch fermentation section, and a subsequent continuous separation section for the recovery of ethanol and succinic acid (a valuable fermentation side-product). In the feed preparation section, crude glycerol, a byproduct from the biodiesel industry, is treated to remove salts and other impurities and then mixed with a nutrient supplement, diluted, and sterilized. In the batch fermentation section, this sterile glycerol feed is anaerobically metabolized by the E. coli, resulting in the formation of ethanol and succinic acid. The broth and vapor from the fermentation section are then sent to the separation section of the plant for product recovery. Although the design uses a hypothetical strain of Escherichia coli as per the problem statement, researchers Dharmadi, Murarka, and Gonzalez of Rice University present a case for the same fermentation process in existing Escherichia coli. As such, the design presented here is physically feasible. The design has a good economic outlook, assuming that crude oil prices continue to rise and that political support for renewable fuels continues. The process is projected to have an approximate investors rate of return (IRR) of 32.24% on a total capital investment of about $108 MM. The net present value was estimated to be $95 MM based on an interest rate of 15%. Additionally, the energy consumption of the process was determined to be 8,000 BTU/gallon of ethanol, well below the 35,000 BTU/gallon energy benchmark provided in the problem statement. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the report, please do not hesitate to contact us. We want to thank you very much for your support throughout the duration of the project and your present consideration. Sincerely,
Chloe LeGendre
Eric Logan
Jordan Mendel
Tamara Seedial
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 7 A. Process Overview.......................................................................................................................... 10 B. Importance for the Study .............................................................................................................. 11 C. Initial Project Charter .................................................................................................................... 16 Market and Competitive Analysis........................................................................................................... 17 Process Flowsheets and Material Balances............................................................................................ 24 Process Description ............................................................................................................................... 42 Fermentation Feed Preparation Section ............................................................................................. 43 Laboratory Section ............................................................................................................................. 46 Plant Seed Fermentation Section ....................................................................................................... 48 Main Fermentation Section................................................................................................................ 50 Separation Section ............................................................................................................................. 53 Energy Balance and Benchmark ............................................................................................................. 56 Unit Descriptions ................................................................................................................................... 61 Feed Preparation Section ................................................................................................................... 62 Storage Tanks: ............................................................................................................................... 62 Heat Exchangers: ........................................................................................................................... 65 Pumps:........................................................................................................................................... 66 Miscellaneous: ............................................................................................................................... 69 Seed Fermentation Train (Plant and Lab) ........................................................................................... 70 Fermenters: ................................................................................................................................... 70 Pumps:........................................................................................................................................... 73 Main Fermentation Section................................................................................................................ 77 Fermenters: ................................................................................................................................... 77 Storage Tanks: ............................................................................................................................... 79 Heat Exchangers: ........................................................................................................................... 79 Pumps:........................................................................................................................................... 80 Blowers:......................................................................................................................................... 83 Separation Section ............................................................................................................................. 84 Storage Tanks: ............................................................................................................................... 84 Heat Exchangers: ........................................................................................................................... 85 3
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Pumps:........................................................................................................................................... 87 Blowers:......................................................................................................................................... 90 Columns:........................................................................................................................................ 91 Miscellaneous: ............................................................................................................................... 93 Unit Specification Sheets ....................................................................................................................... 97 Feed Preparation Section: .................................................................................................................. 98 Storage Tanks: ............................................................................................................................... 98 Heat Exchangers: ......................................................................................................................... 104 Pumps:......................................................................................................................................... 106 Miscellaneous: ............................................................................................................................. 112 Seed Fermentation Section (Plant and Lab): ..................................................................................... 113 Fermenters: ................................................................................................................................. 113 Pumps:......................................................................................................................................... 119 Main Fermentation Section:............................................................................................................. 126 Fermenters: ................................................................................................................................. 126 Storage Tanks: ............................................................................................................................. 128 Heat Exchangers: ......................................................................................................................... 130 Pumps:......................................................................................................................................... 131 Blower: ........................................................................................................................................ 136 Separation Section: .......................................................................................................................... 137 Storage Tanks: ............................................................................................................................. 137 Heat Exchangers: ......................................................................................................................... 142 Pumps:......................................................................................................................................... 146 Blowers:....................................................................................................................................... 153 Columns:...................................................................................................................................... 154 Miscellaneous: ............................................................................................................................. 156 Alternate Units and Considerations ..................................................................................................... 164 Other ................................................................................................................................................... 167 Considerations..................................................................................................................................... 167 Environmental Considerations ............................................................................................................. 171 Economic Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 174 Equipment Cost Estimates ............................................................................................................... 175 4
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Utility Requirements ........................................................................................................................ 178 Operating Costs ............................................................................................................................... 181 Sensitivity Analysis............................................................................................................................... 190 Crude Oil.......................................................................................................................................... 191 Glycerol ........................................................................................................................................... 196 Succinic Acid .................................................................................................................................... 197 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 198 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 200 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 204 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... 206 Sensitivity Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 207 Correlation Example ........................................................................................................................ 207 Equipment Costing and Sizing Calculations....................................................................................... 210 Agitators: ..................................................................................................................................... 211 Blowers:....................................................................................................................................... 213 Crystallizer (C-1) ........................................................................................................................... 214 Distillation Towers: ...................................................................................................................... 215 Dryer: .......................................................................................................................................... 217 Electro-dialysis: ............................................................................................................................ 218 External Heat Losses from FERM1-12 ........................................................................................... 219 Fermenter Tanks: ......................................................................................................................... 220 Fermenter Tank Costs .................................................................................................................. 223 Furnace: ....................................................................................................................................... 224 Glycerol Purification System:........................................................................................................ 225 Heat Exchangers .......................................................................................................................... 226 Heat of Reaction Calculation for determining Temperature Change in Reactors ........................... 231 Molecular Sieves: ......................................................................................................................... 232 Pumps.......................................................................................................................................... 233 Reflux Accumulator: ..................................................................................................................... 238 Rotary Drum Vacuum Filter: ......................................................................................................... 239 Screw Conveyor: .......................................................................................................................... 240 Spray Nozzles for Clean-In-Place System ...................................................................................... 241 5
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Storage, Mixing, and Holding Tanks.............................................................................................. 242 R-101 Glycerol Purification System Patent Application ..................................................................... 244 Glycerol Purification System Supplier Information ........................................................................... 262 Specifications ............................................................................................................................... 263 Key Features ................................................................................................................................ 264 Space, Utility, and Tank Requirements ......................................................................................... 264 Maintenance................................................................................................................................ 264 Carbon Dioxide Cap and Trade Legislation........................................................................................ 265 Problem Statement.......................................................................................................................... 269 Relevant MSDS ................................................................................................................................ 274
Abstract
Section I
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Abstract The purpose of this design project is to examine the plant-scale economic viability of the anaerobic fermentation of crude glycerol to ethanol by a hypothetical wild strain of Escherichia coli. The manufactured ethanol, before being denatured with gasoline, has a purity requirement of 99.5% by weight. The capacity of the ethanol plant, as suggested by the problem statement, is 50 MM gallons per year. The process uses crude glycerol (a waste byproduct from the biodiesel industry) as a primary feedstock, so the manufactured ethanol can be considered a green or renewable fuel source. The process energy requirements must meet the current energy benchmark of 35,000 BTU/gallon of ethanol, typical for a modern corn-to-ethanol process of this scale according to the design problem statement. This goal is more than met, with an energy usage of 8,000 BTU/gallon of ethanol. The process design consists of three main sections: upstream preparation of the glycerol feed for the E. coli, anaerobic fermentation of this glycerol feed to ethanol and succinic acid (a valuable specialty chemical and a side-product of fermentation), and downstream separation to recover the ethanol and succinic acid. When performing the economic analysis, the plant was assumed to be a grass roots plant located in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The total capital investment is $108 million, including a working capital of $23.6 million. In the base case scenario, with crude glycerol priced at $0.05/lb, ethanol priced at $2.50/gallon, gasoline priced at $3.15/gallon, and succinic acid priced at $2.00/lb, the net present value (NPV) of the project is $95 MM based on an interest rate of 15%, and the investors rate of return (IRR) is 32.24%. The process profitability improves with increasing crude oil prices and decreasing crude glycerol prices, which we believe are highly likely scenarios based on our market research.
Introduction
Section II
A. Process Overview
The process design for anaerobically fermenting crude glycerol to ethanol is presented in this report. The plant proposed is divided into three main sections: the upstream preparation of the crude glycerol fermentation feedstock, the fermentation of the glycerol to ethanol and succinic acid, and the downstream separation of products using distillation, molecular sieves, and other separation units. The feed preparation stage purifies, dilutes, and sterilizes the incoming crude glycerol feedstock from biodiesel manufacturing to a glycerol feed appropriate for the microorganisms. The fermentation section is divided into three stages: the laboratory stage (for seed fermentation volumes of under 10 L, as specified in the problem statement), the plant-scale seed fermentation stage, and the main (largescale, primary) fermentation stage. The seed fermentation in total consists of two seed trains of seven (7) seed fermenters each, which provide biomass volume for twelve (12) 2,000,000 L fermenter tanks in the main fermentation process where the majority of the ethanol is produced. The large fermenters are the bottleneck in the process, giving a total cycle time of 297 hours. Because biomass is recycled, this cycle time accounts for three fermentation batches of ethanol. Fresh biomass for the 2,000,000 L fermenters is supplied in one out of every three fermentation periods. Once fermentation is complete, the dilute broth is sent to the separation section of the plant, along with the fermentation off-gases. The broth is heated to deactivate the microorganisms, which are then filtered out and removed. The filtrate proceeds to a distillation column, which brings the ethanol/water solution to the azeotropic point. Ethanol in the vapor stream from the fermentation section is absorbed in a column and sent to this distillation tower as well. The top product from the tower is sent to molecular sieves for further ethanol dehydration. The 99.5% ethanol by mass stream exiting the molecular sieves is then denatured with gasoline, and the ethanol is ready to be sold. The bottom product from the distillation tower, containing a dilute portion of succinic acid, is sent to an
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial electro-dialysis unit that concentrates this solution so that succinic acid can then be crystallized out of solution. Succinic acid crystals are then dried and sold.
B. Importance for the Study

The demand for fuel has increased worldwide. As this demand increased, the number of oil refineries being built has decreased, reflecting a rise in oil prices, with an all time record high in July 2008 of $147/barrel (Simpkins). This rise in price has directed an increase in research into alternative fuel sources such as biofuels, which include ethanol, diesel, and butanol from renewable resources such as corn fiber, biomass, and other agricultural byproducts. Bioethanol is the most widely used alternative automotive fuel in the world. Brazil produces ethanol from sugar cane, and North America produces ethanol from corn for use as an octane enhancer of gasoline (in a small percentage). These countries account for more than 65% of global ethanol production (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Biodiesel is another alternative to fossil fuels. The increased production of biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum has, however, led to a buildup of the by product, glycerol. Recently, crude glycerol has been proposed as an alternative to corn as the starting material for the production of ethanol for use as a fuel (Gonzalez et al. 2008). As such, this report is fueled by the need for a cheaper source of ethanol and by the overproduction of glycerol. Ethanol Demand: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established the renewable fuels standard (RFS) which directs that gasoline sold in the United States contain a specified minimum volume of renewable fuel. Under the Act, the total volume of renewable fuel to be utilized starts at 4 billion gallons in 2006 and increases to 7.5 billion gallons in 2012. However, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law on December 19th 2007, boosts the requirements for renewable fuel use to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The act requires "advanced biofuels"defined as fuels that cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% to provide 21 billion gallons of fuel by 2022, or about 60% of the total requirement. In other words, 11
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial cellulosic biofuels must contribute at least 0.1 billion gallons in 2010, accelerating to 10 billion gallons in 2020 and 16 billion gallons in 2022 (US Department of Energy). Such advanced biofuels could include ethanol derived from cellulosic biomasssuch as wood waste, grasses, and agricultural wastesas well as biodiesel, butanol, and other fuels. Title II of the Energy Act also prohibits petroleum companies from restricting the sale of alternative fuels under new franchise agreements, a provision that could allow gas station owners to install more pumps for E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline (US DOE-EERE). The act also requires labeling diesel fuel pumps with their biodiesel content. This new Energy Act was drafted at the time that oil prices were at a high. This quickened the demand for a less expensive source of energy. However, in 2009, the price of crude oil has dropped significantly from the summer 2008 high of $147 per barrel to $40.17 per barrel (Bloomberg). This drop in prices is a result of the unemployment in the United States climbing in January to the highest level since 1992. As such, oil futures in New York have traded between $38.60 and $42.68 in recent times as the recession in the U.S., Europe and Asia has led to layoffs and reduced spending. Since the ethanol plant that is being proposed will start production in approximately two years, the market should stabilize as OPEC is at present shutting down some oil refineries in an effort to bring balance to the market. Even so, the production of inexpensive bioethanol is still in high demand due to the increasing demand for cleaner transportation fuels. There are great market opportunities for biofuelsagriculturally- derived renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Since the new energy act of 2007, refiners are required by law to blend a certain amount of ethanol into gasoline or buy enough credits to balance out that amount. If ethanol supply in the United States becomes lower than demand, the United States could be forced to import fuel from Brazilian exporters. As such, there is now an even more pressing need for a less expensive source of ethanol than the traditional grain.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial The Glycerol Glut: Glycerol is produced in two ways: natural glycerol is produced as a by-product in the production of soap and in the conversion of fats and oils to fatty acids or fatty acid methyl esters, such as occurs in biodiesel manufacturing, and synthetic glycerol is produced in various manners. Natural glycerol is initially produced in a crude form that contains water and other impurities, which vary widely and depend on the manufacturing process. Asia is the largest producer and consumer of refined glycerin, accounting for 44% and 35% of world production and consumption in 2007. Asia is expected to remain the largest market into 2012 with increasing demand in all applications as well as new markets for refined glycerin. Western Europe is the second-largest producer and consumer of refined glycerin, accounting for nearly 35% and 28% of world production and consumption, respectively, in 2007. North America was the third-largest market in 2007. These three regions accounted for nearly 91% of world production and 82% of world consumption in 2007 (SRI).
Fig IS-1: Consumption of Refined Glycerol by Country(SRI)
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial The increased use of biofuels as alternative to petroleum has lead to a buildup up of the biodiesel manufacturing byproduct, crude glycerol. In general, for every 1000 kilograms of biodiesel made from vegetable oil, 100 kilograms of glycerol is produced as a byproduct (McCoy). Since the previous glycerol supply and demand market was tight, recent increases in glycerol production from biodiesel refineries have created a glut in the glycerol market. As a result, the price of glycerol has fallen significantly, and biodiesel refineries are having difficulty in managing the glycerol by product which has become a waste stream. According to the National Biodiesel Board, U.S. companies produced about 450 million gallons of biodiesel in 2007, and about 60 new plants with a production capacity of 1.2 billion gallons are slated to open by 2010 (Voegele). Purified glycerol has historically been a fairly high valued commercial chemical, usually valued at $0.60-$0.90 / lb and was primarily used in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industry. At this time the price of glycerol as a feedstock was too high to pursue other uses for it. However, as of 2006 the price of glycerol had fallen to as low as $ 0.05- $0.15 /lb. This low price positions glycerol as a favorable feedstock for chemical processes (Voegele). The Department of Energy estimated that if enough biodiesel was produced to replace 2% of petroleum diesel use, around 800 million pounds of glycerol would be produced. Since the US market for crude glycerol is around 600 million pounds, the increasing biodiesel production is producing a glycerol glut, and new markets for the excess glycerol need to be examined (US DOE-EERE). Jerry Patak, director of commodities for Massachusetts-based World Energy Solutions Inc., says the U.S. crude glycerin market is being inundated with imports. Southeast Asia and Europe are exporting glycerin to the United States in large volumes at low prices. The market is depressed as a result of that, he says. Patak expects those depressed prices to continue through the end of 2008, and possibly into 2009 (Voegele). The market is also experiencing reduced demand from Asia. Dave Elsenbast, Renewable Energy 14
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Group Inc.s vice president of procurement says his company has exported glycerin to Asia in the past. The Asian demand that we were selling into seems to have dramatically slowed, he says. They may have started buying more of their supplies out of the Argentinean biodiesel market as that market has developed. (Voegele) With increased fuel production from the biodiesel industry and the lack of exports of glycerol, the price of crude glycerol can be expected to remain low for at least a few years. Crude glycerol sells at a price comparable to that of sugars typically used in fermentation processes, and it has a higher reduced state than that of sugars such as glucose and xylose. This property of glycerol promises to increase the yield of chemicals from fermentation such as ethanol, succinic acid and propanediols. Previously, researchers did not believe that that Escherichia coli bacteria could anearobically metabolize glycerol. However, recent research done by researchers Gonzales and Dharmadi of Rice University on the lab scale has shown that this microorganism is capable of this process under certain pH and other external condition, producing a mixture of ethanol and a small quantity of succinic acid. Gonzales and Dharmadi found the process to be very efficient, with operational costs estimated to be about 40 percent less than those of producing ethanol from corn. Gonzalez has said that new fermentation technologies that produce high-value chemicals like succinate hold even more promise for biodiesel refiners because those chemicals are more profitable than ethanol (Boyd). Succinate is a high-demand chemical feedstock that is used to make everything from noncorrosive airport deicers and nontoxic solvents to plastics, drugs and food additives. Most succinate today comes from nonrenewable fossil fuels (Yazdani). Our project seeks to scale up the fermentation of glycerol to ethanol by Escherichia coli bacteria and determine if it is economically feasible on the plant scale.
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C. Initial Project Charter

Project Name Project Champion Project Leader Specific Goals Project Scope Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol to Ethanol The biodiesel manufacturing industry, Green energy Proponents Chloe LeGendre, Eric Logan, Jordan Mendel, and Tamara Seedial Design an economically viable chemical process with a low energy requirement to produce 50 MM gallons per year of ethanol by fermenting crude waste glycerol using E. Coli In Scope: Full process design of a plant that produces ethanol to be blended with gasoline for use in vehicles Use crude glycerol as feedstock to reduce waste from the biodiesel industry Small scale production of high valued specialty chemical Succinic Acid Design a process more energy-efficient than the current corn-to-ethanol production method Determine profitability of proposed process Out of Scope: Specific biochemistry of E.Coli Full plant design Economic analysis of process Chemical cost sensitivity assessment Deliverables completed by April 14, 2009
Deliverables
Timeline
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Market and Competitive Analysis

Section III
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Market and Competitive Analysis Ethanol The worldwide demand for fuel has prompted a rise in the biofuels production, especially after the fluctuation in oil prices in 2008. The most common biofuels are alcohols such as ethanol, butanol and propanol, along with vegetable mass oil or biodiesel. These are all produced from biomass and are beginning to infiltrate the world markets. As a result of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law on December 19th 2007, which boosts the requirements for renewable fuel use to 36 billion gallons by 2022, ethanol production in the United States is expected to increase. This act also states that there is to be more production of E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. (US Department of Energy-EERE). As such the price of ethanol is related to the price of gasoline and by extension crude oil. According to OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) figures, production of fuel ethanol on a global scale tripled to 52 billion liters (13.73 billion gallons) from 2000 to 2007, and by 2017 that number is expected to increase to 127 billion liters (33.54 billion gallons) per annum. As production of ethanol increases, the amount that is traded on the open market as opposed to being used domestically is expected to increase also, to 6 billion liters (1.58 billion gallons) in 2010 and further to more than 10 billion liters (2.64+ billion gallons) in 2017 (OECD). Certain nations have a comparative advantage over others, in terms of necessary feed stocks and transportation costs, so it is first useful to examine the global ethanol market. According to the (international) OECD 2007 report, the global price of fuel ethanol is expected to hit a high of $55 per hectoliter ($2.082 per gallon) by 2009 and to level off to $52 per hectoliter by 2017 ($1.969 per gallon) (OECD).This global data is shown in Figure MA-1, along with comparative pricing data for biodiesel.
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4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 2004 2006 2008 2010 Ethanol 2012 Biodiesel 2014 2016 2018
Figure MA-1. Global Prices of Ethanol and Biodiesel (USD)/gallon over the next 8 years (OECD data).
However, it is to be noted that this data that examines global markets ignores the influence of policy support and legislature within individual countries. For example, policies such as the US Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) are not taken into account. Therefore one must look at nationwide market analyses in addition to global figures. The global data shows an ethanol price leveling off at $1.97 per gallon at around 2017(OECD), which is significantly lower than the value predicted by data from the United States Department of Energy. Data from the DOE and current market data show direct correlations between the price of gas and the price of ethanol within the United States (See Sensitivity Analysis Fig. SA-1). This correlation could be a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which established the renewable fuels standard (RFS). This standard states that gasoline sold in the United States must contain a specified minimum volume of renewable fuel. In Fig. MA-2 below, the actual prices of oil and gas as recorded from the New York Stock Exchange by Interactive Data Corporation are used to create correlations between these prices and the price of ethanol. (See the Sensitivity Analysis for a summary of the correlation.)
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Ethanol Correlation vs Actual

3.5
2.5 Price $ per gallon
Ethanol A ctual
2
Ethanol Predic ted from A ctual G as Ethanol Predic ted from actual Oil
1.5
0.5
0 1/3/2008
3/23/2008
6/11/2008
8/30/2008 Dates
11/18/2008
2/6/2009
4/27/2009
Figure MA-2. Actual price of ethanol compared with prices generated by linear correlations with actual oil and actual gas prices.
Since the ethanol prices predicted by actual oil and actual gas prices seem to correspond well to the actual prices of ethanol, the correlation between ethanol prices and oil prices can be validated. This correlation also allows the prediction of future ethanol prices based on future oil prices.
3.5 P ric e$ per g allon 3
P redic ted G as and E thanol P ric es from C orrelations
2.5 2 2010
G as E thanol 2015 Yea r 2020 2025
Figure MA-3. Predicted gasoline and ethanol prices from correlations with predicted crude oil values from the U.S. DOE. For details of correlation see the Sensitivity Analysis section.
The validated correlations were used to predict future gas and ethanol prices from future oil price data from the US Department of Energy. As seen in Fig. MA-3, the data predicts the price of 20
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial ethanol to steadily increase until a cost of $ 2.58/gallon. This value is slightly higher than that predicted from the global data, and closer to the predicted value of ethanol in the design problem statement ($2.50/gallon) (See page 269). Glycerol Looking at the global OECD fuel production data from 2000 to 2007, biodiesel production saw an even more pronounced expansion, from less than 1 billion liters (0.26 billion gallons) annually to about 11 billion liters (2.91 billion gallons). For every 1000 kg of biodiesel produced, roughly 100 kg of glycerol is produced as a byproduct. When global production of biodiesel reaches its stable peak at 2.91 billion gallons, or 9.69 billion metric tons (21.4 billion lbs) per year, roughly 2.91 billion gallons of glycerol per year will be produced as a waste product (The Glycerol Challenge). The price of biodiesel in the same period that production is increasing is expected to reach a steady value of $105.49 per hectoliter ($3.99 per gallon). This global data predicts that the crude glycerol bulk prices will be at or around the $0.05 per pound ($0.00475 per gallon) floor that prices have been hovering around in the last few years (Lefebvre). There is again a slight discrepancy between the global and domestic data since crude glycerol prices seem to be dropping even lower than $0.05/lb in the United States. In January 2006, Dow Chemical closed a glycerol-producing plant in Freeport, Texas due to the global glut of glycerol as a byproduct created by the rise in production of biodiesel. This event signaled that the world had entered into a new period in the market of crude glycerol. Whereas refined glycerol, mostly from Asia, is still a market commodity with an adequate demand for its supply, and therefore subject to market influences, crude glycerol is a chemical that few processes can or want to touch. This glycerol glut creates significant opportunities for a plant, such as this one, that can use glycerol in its crude form (McCoy 7). While demand for biodiesel is certainly rising, as signaled by the large predicted rate of growth until the year 2017, demand for crude glycerol is not nearly rising as quickly. This will lead to a long 21
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial period, until innovation can catch up with favorable market conditions, of crude glycerol prices being determined almost exclusively by the production rate of biodiesel. Since this rate is rising, there is a direct relationship between the production of biodiesel and glycerol. The higher the supply of crude glycerol, the lower its price falls. There should be an inverse relationship between production of biodiesel and cost of glycerol (Voegele). This inverse relationship is further corroborated by some of the limited data available on glycerol prices since the expansion of the biodiesel industry. This data is illustrated in the Fig. MA-4, which is quoted from Anaerobic fermentation of glycerol: a path to economic viability for the biofuels industry." (Gonzales 2009)
Figure MA-4. Prices of Crude Glycerol in relation to biodiesel production since 2004 (Gonzales 2009)
This data illustrates that glycerol prices may drop even lower than the 5 cents per pound that was quoted as global data. If the price of ethanol increases until 2030, as predicted by the correlation in Fig. MA-3, and the price of glycerol decreases, as seen in Fig. MA-4, the process of fermenting glycerol into ethanol should be a profitable investment.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Succinic Acid The anaerobic fermentation of glycerol to ethanol also produces succinic acid. Succinic acid is used as a starting material for many important chemicals in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Industrial succinic acid is usually produced from butane through maleic anhydride, and food grade succinic acid is produced through older fermentation and separation technology (Paster et al). These methods are costly, and succinic acid use remains limited. The current worldwide usage of succinic acid is around 20,000 to 30,000 tons per year, but this will increase by around 10% per year in light of new technologies (such as this fermentation process) that may decrease the price of succinic acid production (Kidwell). At present, succinic acid is mostly produced by the chemical process from n-butane through maleic anhydride. In 2005, succinic acid was sold for $5.90-$9.00/kg ($2.68-$4.00 per pound) depending on its purity (Song et al).This high cost was a result of expensive feed materials and a costly separation process. The use of glycerol as a starting point should drop the price of production. In 2006, maleic anhydride made from n-butane was sold for $0.977/kg ($0.45 per pound) (Song et al.), while the price of glycerol was a little more than a tenth of that price ($0.05 per pound) (Yazdani). As such, it is reasonable to assume that the price of succinic acid will be $2.00- $3.00/pound, as fermentation technologies cause the price of production to decrease. At the price of $2.00/pound, the succinic acid revenue will increase the profitability of the plant.
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Process Flowsheets and Material Balances

Section IV
Feed Preparation Section..... 25 Laboratory Section....... 28 Plant Seed Fermentation Section...... 30 Main Fermentation Section..... 33 Separation Section........ 37
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Feed Preparation Stage Material Balance Block (1 of 2)
Stream number Temperature C Pressure (psi) Vapor Fraction Mass (kg/hr) Mole (kmol/hr) Volume (L/hr) State Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) Mass components (kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 3044.62 3469.61 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4832.32 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4832.32 1734.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 3044.62 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 151104.77 0.00 0.00 0.00 927.42 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 927.42 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 0.00 -35169.79 Solution 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 169.00 ---S-FP-101 25.00 14.60 0.00 43370.09 S-FP-102 25.00 14.60 0.00 4832.32 268.24 -4832.32 Liquid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 268.24 0.00 4832.32 Solution 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 268.24 ---S-FP-103 25.00 14.60 0.00 6567.13 S-FP-104 25.00 14.60 0.00 39900.49 569.20 32356.21 Solution 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 169.00 0.00 S-FP-105 25.00 14.60 0.00 151104.77 8387.72 151104.77 Liquid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8387.72 0.00 S-FP-106 25.00 14.60 0.00 9.27 Solution 0.00 0.00 9.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 S-FP-107 25.00 14.60 0.00 8966.20 Solution 0.00 0.00 9.27 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 8556.72 0.00
927.42 191932.67 927.42 185192.86
Molar components (kmol/hr)
0.00 154149.38
26

Feed Preparation Stage Material Balance Block (2 of 2)
Stream number Temperature C Pressure (psi) Vapor Fraction Mass (kg/hr) Mole (kmol/hr) Volume (L/hr) State Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) Mass components (kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) 0.00 0.00 927.42 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 154149.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 927.42 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 154149.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4044.94 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4044.94 0.00 0.00 0.00 927.42 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 154149.38 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1734.80 0.00 0.00 927.42 0.00 36855.87 0.00 0.00 154149.38 0.00 S-FP-108 111.04 40.00 0.00 191932.67 8966.20 185192.86 Soluti on 0.00 0.00 9.27 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 8556.72 0.00 S-FP-109 121.00 35.00 0.00 191932.67 8966.20 185192.86 Soluti on 0.00 0.00 9.27 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 8556.72 0.00 S-FP-110 186.11 150.00 1.00 4044.94 224.53 755015.75 Vapor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 224.53 0.00 S-FP-111 179.97 145.00 0.01 4044.94 224.53 9646.96 Li quid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 224.53 0.00 S-FP-112 37.00 30.00 0.00 191932.67 8966.20 n/a 185192.86 n/a Soluti on 0.00 0.00 9.27 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 8556.72 0.00 n/a Cake 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 S-FP-113 25.00 14.60 0.00 1734.80 S-FP-114 25.00 45.00 0.00 191932.67 8966.20 185192.86 Sol ution 0.00 0.00 9.27 0.00 400.20 0.00 0.00 8556.72 0.00
Molar components (kmol/hr)
27
28

Lab Scale Material Balance Block
Stream number Temperature C Pressure (psi) Vapor Fraction Mass (g/batch) Mole (mol/batch) Volume (mL/batch) Ethanol Conc. (g/L) State Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Mass components (g/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water 1.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.08 0.00 0.10 1.86 0.00 0.00 0.05 15.72 1.70 0.00 2.05 38.06 0.00 0.00 1.05 338.47 14.16 0.00 41.06 760.73 0.00 0.00 20.92 6793.16 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 4.00 0.00 0.00 15.79 0.00 0.00 1.95 0.00 77.50 0.00 0.00 324.09 0.00 0.00 39.01 0.00 1550.32 0.00 0.00 6484.14 0.00 1.84 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.09 0.00 36.13 0.00 1.80 0.00 1.66 0.00 1.70 0.00 718.64 0.00 36.86 0.00 33.26 0.00 35.30 SL-1 37.00 14.80 0.00 1.05 0.04 1.00 0.00 Slurry 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 SL-2 37.00 14.80 0.00 18.81 0.96 19.44 95.70 SL-3 37.00 14.80 0.00 381.33 19.71 395.30 96.28 SL-4 37.00 14.80 0.00 7630.03 394.76 7911.00 96.19 SL-5 37.00 14.80 0.00 19.89 0.92 19.15 0.00 SL-6 37.00 14.80 0.00 403.54 18.85 389.42 0.00 SL-7 37.00 14.80 0.00 8073.46 377.16 7790.00 -0.00 -SL-8 37.00 14.80 1.00 2.12 0.09 --SL-9 37.00 14.80 1.00 41.29 1.78 --SL-10 37.00 14.80 1.00 824.06 35.59
Soluti on Sol uti on Sol ution Sol uti on Sol uti on Solution Va por 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.87 0.07 0.00 0.02 0.83 0.00 0.00 0.01 18.79 0.58 0.00 0.41 16.51 0.00 0.00 0.18 377.08 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.88 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.84 0.00 0.00 17.99 0.00 0.00 0.39 0.00 16.83 0.00 0.00 359.93 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00
Va por Va por 0.00 0.82 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.82 0.00 0.09 0.00 16.33 0.00 0.80 0.00 16.50 0.00 1.96
Molar components (mol/batch)
29
30

Plant Scale Seed Fermentation Train Material Balance Block (Batch) (1 of 2) Stream number S-101 S-102 S-103 S-104 S-105 S-106 S-107 Temperature C 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 Pressure (psi) 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/batch) 160.92 3230.44 64593.22 423410.27 7.63 152.12 3052.67 Mole (mol/batch) 7517.65 150910.97 3017493.24 19779746.86 394.76 7870.57 157943.69 Volume (L/batch) 156.00 3117.00 62325.00 408542.00 7.91 157.71 3164.95 Ethanol Conc. (g/L) ----96.19 96.16 96.17 State Solution Solution Solution Solution Solution Solution Solution Molar components (mol/batch) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.58 10.67 213.25 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 7.78 156.09 3121.14 20459.18 0.41 8.19 164.28 Ethanol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 16.51 329.22 6606.64 Glycerol 335.54 6735.78 134683.19 882851.83 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.18 3.53 70.89 Water 7174.33 144019.10 2879688.90 18876435.84 377.08 7518.97 150888.64 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.26 5.25 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.78 15.61 312.11 2045.92 0.04 0.82 16.43 Ethanol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.76 15.17 304.36 Glycerol 30.90 620.32 12403.51 81305.36 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.42 8.37 Water 129.25 2594.50 51877.60 340058.99 6.79 135.45 2718.26
31

Plant Scale Seed Fermentation Train Material Balance Block (Batch) (2 of 2) Stream number S-108 S-109 S-110 S-111 S-112 Temperature C 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 Pressure (psi) 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 Vapor Fraction 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Mass (kg/batch) 61047.80 16.44 329.89 6598.10 43596.29 Mole (mol/batch) 3158605.38 709.59 14242.56 284861.20 1879984.19 Volume (L/batch) 63293.21 ----Ethanol Conc. (g/L) 96.16 ----State Solution Vapor Vapor Vapor Vapor Molar components (mol/batch) Biomass 4263.84 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 325.48 6533.71 130642.69 856366.25 Corn Steep Liquor 3285.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 132109.86 16.13 323.64 6486.30 46673.86 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 328.83 6601.06 131989.53 865194.82 Succinic Acid 1417.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 3017528.53 39.15 784.15 15742.68 111749.27 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 104.89 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 14.32 287.55 5749.58 37688.68 Corn Steep Liquor 328.54 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 6086.17 0.74 14.91 298.82 2150.22 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.66 13.31 266.09 1744.23 Succinic Acid 167.42 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 54360.78 0.71 14.13 283.60 2013.16
S-113
S-114 37.00 37.00 14.80 14.80 1.00 0.00 50540.72 440861.80 2179797.55 22815309.40 -457030.26 -95.82 Vapor Solution 0.00 30815.61 993868.13 0.00 0.00 23744.61 53499.93 950630.80 0.00 0.00 1004114.24 0.00 0.00 10246.24 128315.25 21799872.14 0.00 43740.14 0.00 2464.69 0.00 2024.29 0.00 2311.60 758.06 0.00 2374.46 43794.61 0.00 0.00 1209.97 392724.70
32
33

Main Fermentation Section (Batch) (1 of 4) Stream number S-114 S-115 S-116 S-117 Temperature C 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 Pressure (psi) 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/batch) 440861.80 1556144.82 1556144.82 1556144.82 Mole (kmol/batch) 22815.31 72695.81 72695.81 72695.81 Volume (L/batch) 457030.26 1501500.00 1501501.00 1501502.00 Ethanol Conc. (g/L) 95.82 ---State Solution Solution Solution Solution Molar components (kmol/batch) Biomass 30.82 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 23.74 75.19 75.19 75.19 Ethanol 950.63 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 3244.71 3244.71 3244.71 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 10.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 21799.87 69375.90 69375.90 69375.90 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 758.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 2374.46 7519.29 7519.29 7519.29 Ethanol 43794.61 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 298818.71 298818.71 298818.71 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 1209.97 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 392724.70 1249806.82 1249806.82 1249806.82
S-118
S-119 S-120 S-121 S-122 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1556144.82 1556144.82 1556144.82 73447.58 73447.58 72695.81 72695.81 72695.81 3801.03 3801.03 1501503.00 1501504.00 1501505.00 76141.62 76141.62 ---95.82 95.82 Solution Solution Solution Solution Solution 0.00 0.00 75.19 0.00 3244.71 0.00 0.00 69375.90 0.00 0.00 75.19 0.00 3244.71 0.00 0.00 69375.90 0.00 0.00 75.19 0.00 3244.71 0.00 0.00 69375.90 0.00 0.00 7519.29 0.00 298818.71 0.00 0.00 1249806.82 5.13 0.00 3.96 158.38 0.00 0.00 1.71 3631.86 126.29 0.00 395.59 7296.18 0.00 0.00 201.58 65427.93 5.13 0.00 3.96 158.38 0.00 0.00 1.71 3631.86 126.29 0.00 395.59 7296.18 0.00 0.00 201.58 65427.93
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 7519.29 7519.29 0.00 0.00 298818.71 298818.71 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1249806.82 1249806.82
Main Fermentation Section (Batch) (2 of 4) Stream number S-123 S-124 S-125 S-126 Temperature C 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 Pressure (psi) 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/batch) 73447.58 73447.58 73447.58 73447.58 Mole (kmol/batch) 3801.03 3801.03 3801.03 3801.03 Volume (L/batch) 76141.62 76141.62 76141.62 76141.62 Ethanol Conc. (g/L) 95.82 95.82 95.82 95.82 State Solution Solution Solution Solution Molar components (kmol/batch) Biomass 5.13 5.13 5.13 5.13 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 3.96 3.96 3.96 3.96 Ethanol 158.38 158.38 158.38 158.38 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 1.71 1.71 1.71 1.71 Water 3631.86 3631.86 3631.86 3631.86 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 126.29 126.29 126.29 126.29 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 395.59 395.59 395.59 395.59 Ethanol 7296.18 7296.18 7296.18 7296.18 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 201.58 201.58 201.58 201.58 Water 65427.93 65427.93 65427.93 65427.93
S-127 37.00 14.80 0.00 158271.24 6824.67 --Vapor 0.00 3147.37 0.00 156.23 0.00 3179.82 0.00 341.25 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
S-128 37.00 14.80 0.00 158271.24 6824.67 --Vapor 0.00 3147.37 0.00 156.23 0.00 3179.82 0.00 341.25 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
S-129 37.00 14.80 0.00 158271.24 6824.67 --Vapor 0.00 3147.37 0.00 156.23 0.00 3179.82 0.00 341.25 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
S-130 37.00 14.80 0.00 158271.24 6824.67 --Vapor 0.00 3147.37 0.00 156.23 0.00 3179.82 0.00 341.25 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
S-131 37.00 14.80 0.00 158271.24 6824.67 --Vapor 0.00 3147.37 0.00 156.23 0.00 3179.82 0.00 341.25 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
34

Main Fermentation Section (Batch) (3 of 4) Stream number S-132 S-133 Temperature C 37.00 37.00 Pressure (psi) 14.80 14.80 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/batch) 1471321.26 1471321.26 Mole (kmol/batch) 76129.39 76129.39 Volume (L/batch) 1525403.90 1525403.90 Ethanol Conc. (g/L) 96.01 96.01 State Solution Solution Molar components (kmol/batch) Biomass 102.72 102.72 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 79.15 79.15 Ethanol 3181.97 3181.97 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 34.15 34.15 Water 72731.40 72731.40 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 2526.88 2526.88 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 7914.88 7914.88 Ethanol 146590.06 146590.06 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 4033.23 4033.23 Water 1310256.21 1310256.21
S-134
S-135 S-136 S-137 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1471321.26 1471321.26 1471321.26 1471321.26 76129.39 76129.39 76129.39 76129.39 1525403.90 1525403.90 1525403.90 1525403.90 96.01 96.01 96.01 96.01 Solution Solution Solution Solution 102.72 0.00 79.15 3181.97 0.00 0.00 34.15 72731.40 102.72 0.00 79.15 3181.97 0.00 0.00 34.15 72731.40 102.72 0.00 79.15 3181.97 0.00 0.00 34.15 72731.40 102.72 0.00 79.15 3181.97 0.00 0.00 34.15 72731.40
S-138 37.00 14.80 0.00 158271.24 6824.67 --Vapor 0.00 3147.37 0.00 156.23 0.00 3179.82 0.00 341.25 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
2526.88 2526.88 2526.88 2526.88 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 7914.88 7914.88 7914.88 7914.88 146590.06 146590.06 146590.06 146590.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4033.23 4033.23 4033.23 4033.23 1310256.21 1310256.21 1310256.21 1310256.21
35

Main Fermentation Section (Continuous*) (4 of 4) Stream number S-139* S-140* S-141* S-142* S-143* S-144* Temperature C 37.00 37.00 42.72 37.00 31.44 36.60 Pressure (psi) 19.00 14.80 14.80 14.80 14.60 14.60 Vapor Fraction 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/hr) 19524.73 172397.24 24522.02 24522.02 22063.00 22063.00 Mole (kmol/hr) 841.91 8920.21 1268.82 1268.82 1224.70 1224.70 Volume (L/hr) 21275721.11 178734.19 25423.40 25423.40 22063.00 22063.00 Ethanol Conc. (g/L) 96.01 ----State Vapor Solution Solution Solution Liquid Liquid Molar components (kmol/hr) Biomass 0.00 12.04 1.71 1.71 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 388.19 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.00 9.27 1.32 1.32 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 19.30 372.84 53.03 53.03 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 392.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.00 4.00 0.57 0.57 0.00 0.00 Water 42.23 8522.06 1212.19 1212.19 1224.70 1224.70 Mass components (kg/hr) Biomass 0.00 296.08 42.11 42.11 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 17084.35 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.00 927.40 131.91 131.91 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 888.99 17176.21 2443.17 2443.17 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 790.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.00 472.58 67.22 67.22 0.00 0.00 Water 760.73 153524.97 21837.60 21837.60 22063.00 22063.00
36
37

Separation Section Material Balance Block (1 of 4) Stream number S-S-101 S-S-102 S-S-103 S-S-104 S-S-105 S-S-106 S-S-107 Temperature C 25.00 37.00 28.98 41.22 32.22 48.89 147.70 Pressure (psi) 14.60 16.00 16.00 20.00 14.60 14.60 64.70 Vapor Fraction 0.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/hr) 27,022.50 19,524.80 18,362.04 28,185.64 1,087,869.82 1,087,869.82 16,775.34 Mole (kmol/hr) 1,500.00 841.91 807.41 1,534.51 60,386.89 60,386.89 931.19 Volume (L/hr) 27,022.50 21275721.11 17,090,746.03 28,423.42 1,087,869.82 1,087,869.82 -State Liquid Vapor Vapor Liquid Liquid Liquid Vapor Molar components (kmol/hr) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 388.19 388.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 0.00 19.30 0.00 19.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 Gasoline -------Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 392.19 392.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 1,500.00 42.23 27.03 1,515.21 60,386.89 60,386.89 931.19 Mass components (kg/hr) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 17,084.24 17,084.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 0.00 889.13 0.22 889.13 0.00 0.00 0.00 Gasoline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 790.66 790.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 27,022.50 760.77 486.92 27,296.51 1,087,869.82 1,087,869.82 16,775.34
S-S-108 S-S-109 S-S-110 147.70 37.00 92.22 64.70 14.80 14.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 16,775.34 172,397.24 172,397.24 931.19 8,920.21 8,920.21 16,775.34 175,294.56 175,294.56 Liquid Solution Solution 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 931.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 16,775.34 12.04 0.00 9.27 372.84 -0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 8,522.06 296.08 0.00 927.40 17,176.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 472.58 153,524.97 12.04 0.00 9.27 372.84 -0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 8,522.06 296.08 0.00 927.40 17,176.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 472.58 153,524.97
38

Separation Section Material Balance Block (2 of 4) Stream number S-S-111 S-S-112 S-S-113 S-S-114 S-S-115 S-S-116 S-S-117 S-S-118 S-S-119 S-S-120 Temperature C 92.22 92.22 37.00 108.89 81.96 108.81 121.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 Pressure (psi) 14.60 14.60 14.70 21.50 14.70 21.50 17.00 14.70 14.70 14.70 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.16 1.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/hr) 977.20 171,420.74 135,234.48 233,698.14 24,372.05 181,540.75 153,597.31 50,826.80 45,331.18 5,495.61 Mole (kmol/hr) 30.23 8,890.00 4,687.45 12,927.02 590.80 10,031.80 5,298.77 2,561.64 2,301.98 259.66 Volume (L/hr) -174,995.04 119,294,100.00 232,716.50 12,041,435.90 180,559.12 171,375,000.00 45,139.78 40,625.80 4,513.98 State Cake Solution Vapor Liquid Vapor Solution Solution Liquid Liquid Molar components (kmol/hr) Biomass 10.83 1.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 388.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 4.18 5.09 0.00 5.09 0.00 5.09 0.00 50.93 45.84 5.09 Ethanol 0.64 372.20 0.00 0.00 489.37 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Gasoline ---- -------Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 984.36 0.00 0.00 0.00 788.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 3,703.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,703.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.01 4.00 0.00 4.00 0.00 4.00 0.00 5.03 1.03 4.00 Water 14.57 8,507.50 0.00 12,917.93 101.43 10,022.71 419.23 2,505.68 2,255.11 250.57 Mass components (kg/hr) Biomass 266.47 29.61 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 17,084.68 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 418.12 509.28 0.00 509.28 0.00 509.28 0.00 5,092.78 4,583.50 509.28 Ethanol 29.36 17,146.88 0.00 0.01 22,544.79 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Gasoline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 31,498.34 0.00 0.00 0.00 25,223.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 103,736.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 103,736.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 0.81 472.36 0.00 472.36 0.00 472.36 0.00 594.23 121.88 472.36 Water 262.44 153,262.61 0.00 232,716.49 1,827.26 180,559.12 7,552.43 45,139.78 40,625.80 4,513.98
39

Separation Section Material Balance Block (3 of 4) Stream number S-S-121 S-S-122 S-S-123 S-S-124 S-S-125 S-S-126 S-S-127 S-S-128 S-S-129 Temperature C 40.00 78.40 81.95 50.00 25.00 50.00 33.00 81.95 81.95 Pressure (psi) 14.70 14.70 14.70 14.70 14.70 14.70 14.70 17.00 17.00 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.13 Mass (kg/hr) 458.81 18,035.83 6,336.03 18,035.83 360.72 18,396.55 4,513.98 165,301.18 189,673.23 Mole (kmol/hr) 3.89 391.50 199.30 391.50 --250.57 4,046.71 4,637.51 Volume (L/hr) 22,859.10 7,541.80 22,859.10 457.18 22,859.10 4,513.98 205,879.09 236,280.23 State Solid Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid Mixed Molar components (kmol/batch) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 0.00 391.50 97.87 391.50 0.00 391.50 0.00 3,293.63 3,783.00 Gasoline ---------Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 3.89 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 0.00 0.00 101.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 250.57 753.08 854.51 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 0.00 18,035.83 4,508.77 18,035.83 0.00 18,035.83 0.00 151,734.45 174,279.23 Gasoline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 360.72 360.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 458.81 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 0.00 0.00 1,827.26 0.00 0.00 0.00 4,513.98 13,566.74 15,394.00
S-S-130 81.95 17.00 1.00 189,673.23 4,637.51 236,280.23 Vapor 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,783.00 -0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 854.51 0.00 0.00 0.00 174,279.23 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 15,394.00
40

Separation Section Material Balance Block (4 of 4) Stream number S-S-131 S-S-132 S-S-133 S-S-134 S-S-135 S-S-136 S-S-137 S-S-138 S-S-139 Temperature C 108.89 108.89 108.89 40.00 108.89 32.22 48.89 42.56 108.89 Pressure (psi) 21.50 21.50 21.50 14.70 21.50 14.70 14.70 14.70 14.70 Vapor Fraction 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mass (kg/hr) 233,698.14 233,698.14 52,157.39 5,036.80 180,559.12 23,766.11 23,766.11 180,559.12 29.61 Mole (kmol/hr) 12,927.02 12,927.02 2,895.22 255.78 10,022.71 1,319.24 1,319.24 10,022.71 1.20 Volume (L/hr) 232,716.50 232,716.50 197,424.53 23,766.11 23,766.11 197,424.53 State Liquid Liquid Vapor Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid Cake Molar components (kmol/batch) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.20 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 5.09 5.09 0.00 5.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Gasoline ---------Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 4.00 4.00 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 12,917.93 12,917.93 2,895.22 250.57 10,022.71 1,319.24 1,319.24 10,022.71 0.00 Mass components (kg/batch) Biomass 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 29.61 Carbon Dioxide 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corn Steep Liquor 509.28 509.28 0.00 509.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ethanol 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Gasoline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Methane 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Oxygen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Nitrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Glycerol 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Hydrogen 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Succinic Acid 472.36 472.36 0.01 13.54 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Water 232,716.49 232,716.49 52,157.37 4,513.98 180,559.12 23,766.11 23,766.11 180,559.12 0.00
41
Process Description
Section V
42
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Process Description Fermentation Feed Preparation Section In the continuous feed preparation section, crude glycerol is processed and diluted in preparation for subsequent fermentation of glycerol to ethanol by Escherichia coli in the fermentation plant sections. A three day supply of crude glycerol is kept in stock in a storage tank. This glycerol feedstock is a byproduct of biodiesel manufacturing, and its exact composition will differ based on the type of oil (soybean, rape-seed, others) used in the upstream biodiesel process, the type of caustic solution used in the biodiesel process, and the degree of methanol removal processing in the biodiesel plant. Methanol is typically separated from the crude glycerol for recycle back into the biodiesel process, so the assumption that there is no methanol in the incoming feed for the material balance calculations is sound. However, the crude feedstock purification system is designed to remove methanol in the worst case scenario that a small amount of methanol is contained in the feedstock and not previously removed by the biodiesel manufacturing process. Crude glycerol feedstock is highly variable in composition, but a typical composition according to EET Corporation (supplier of the crude glycerol purification system) is summarized in Table PD-1, where MONG refers to Matter: Organic, Non-Glycerol, which includes free fatty acids, monoglycerides, and diglycerides. This typical composition is in agreement with a technical data sheet on a crude glycerol product from industrial glycerol supplier Emergent Industrial Solutions.
Material Weight Percent Glycerol 85 Water 7 NaCl 4 MONG 4 Table PD-1. Typical composition of crude glycerol feedstock.
The crude glycerol feedstock is purified so that it contains only water and glycerol. This purification takes place in a patent-pending, fully-contained, and licensed glycerol purification system 43
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial sold by company EET Corporation. The purification takes place by a parallel combination of reverse osmosis, electro-pressure membrane technology, and electro-dialysis. The process requires an input of process water and yields a cake of MONG and a concentrated brine stream. The MONG, at the suggestion of industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana, may be distributed to farmers as a nutrient. The concentration of salts in the crude glycerol, although specified in the problem statement as helpful for the E. coli, is high enough in actuality that any 304 stainless steel processing equipment would be easily corroded according to Mr. Bruce Vrana. Additionally, it is likely that any potentially higher quantity of salts would kill microorganisms such as E. coli. As such, the crude glycerol salts and impurities are removed, and then a nutrient supplement, Corn Steep Liquor (CSL), an inexpensive nutrient-rich byproduct of the wet-milling of corn, is added. A three day supply of the CSL nutrient is stored in T-103, and it is mixed with a 10 minutes residence time with the purified glycerol and water in mixing tank T-105 to prepare a feed with a concentration of 5 g/L CSL as suggested by Agarwal et al. CSL is typically 50% solids and 50% water by weight. It contains variable concentrations of salts, minerals, and amino acids to promote microorganism metabolism. The glycerol is diluted with additional process water at this step so that the ethanol concentration in the downstream batch fermenters does not exceed 100 g/L, as specified in the problem statement (see page 269). The mixed glycerol feedstock solution at this point consists of 80.3% water, 19.2 % glycerol, and 0.5 % CSL (percentages by weight) at room temperature. This feedstock must be sterilized to a temperature of 121C (sterilization temperature for all microorganisms, including heat-resistant spores) before it can be sent to the fermentation section of the plant. In order to minimize both hot and cold utility requirements, the feed is sterilized in a network of two heat exchangers, HX-1 and HX-2. In the first heat exchanger, the cold feed is pre-heated to 111 C, using already sterilized feed at 121 C on the hot side of the exchanger. This sterilized feed is cooled to 37 C, the optimal temperature for fermentation. The second exchanger requires a 150 psig steam utility, at 4045 kg/hr, to heat the pre44
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial heated feed from 111 C to 121 C. The sterilized and cooled feed is then stored in the sterilized feed holding tank, T-106, from which batch portions of sterilized feed will be fed to the seed fermentation and main fermentation sections of the plant.
45
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Laboratory Section A batch seed fermentation process is designed to account for the fact that a 1 mL aliquot of cells cannot be added to fermenter tanks of the large required volume for the 50 MM gallon/year ethanol production rate. This seed fermentation occurs first in a laboratory, and then in the plant, before significant enough volumes of seed fermentation broth have been produced for charging the main fermentation section of the plant. There are two seed fermentation trains, each of which will provide the appropriate cell volumes for six of the twelve full-scale fermenters in the main fermentation section. These two trains are labeled as A and B on the process flow diagrams. The laboratory process flow diagram shows only one of these two fermentation seed trains. They occur in the process in a staggered manner to be later described. The laboratory section begins with a 1 mL aliquot or inoculum of E. coli, which is a hypothetical naturally occurring strain of the microorganism that has been shown to anaerobically ferment glycerol to ethanol (as per the problem statement). It is stored frozen in the laboratory. The reactions and conversions of glycerol by the organism (given in the problem statement) are summarized below: Glycerol CO2 + H2 + Ethanol (98%) CO2 + Glycerol Succinic Acid + H2O (1%) Glycerol 3.0075(Biomass) + H2O (1%) The problem statement specifies that a sample volume of E. coli may be grown to a volume equal to 20 times that of the original sample in each successive scale-up step. The problem statement additionally specifies a desired end ethanol titer of 100 g/L, and an ethanol production rate of 1.6 grams ethanol formed per liter of reaction volume per hour. Dimensional analysis reveals that 62.5 hours are required for the first scale-up, in which the 1 mL aliquot is added to ~19 mL of sterilized glycerol feed in a vapor-locked 25 mL test tube (Seed Ferm 1A/1B) to provide a working volume of 20 mL. The volume of
46
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial the reaction changes over time, so the volume requirements are approximations. The optimal pH of 7, temperature of 37 C, and anaerobic conditions are maintained. The 20 mL portion is then transferred to a second vapor-locked seed fermenter (Seed Ferm 2A/2B) with a volume of 500 mL. Sterilized glycerol feed is added to create a working volume of about 400 mL. The time for reaction is reduced to 60 hours, as the sample added to Seed Ferm 2A/2B already contains a small portion of ethanol. This 400 mL sample is then charged to the last laboratory stage fermenter (Seed Ferm 3A/3B), with a working volume of 8 L and an actual volume of 10 L and 304 stainless steel construction. The volume difference is made up with the sterilized glycerol feed. Another 60 hour reaction period follows. Then, the 8 L volumes of prepared cells are taken to the plant seed fermentation section, where they are added to the first plant seed fermenters (Seed Ferm 4A/4B).
47
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Plant Seed Fermentation Section The 8 L samples from the largest lab scale fermenters (Seed Ferm 3A/3B) provide the E. coli source for the first plant scale fermenters (Seed Ferm 4A/4B), with working volumes of 160 L. Pumped into these 200 L, 304 stainless steel vessels, is a ~152 L portion of the sterilized glycerol feed from the feed preparation section. The reaction proceeds for 60 hours. In this and all subsequent fermenter units, the optimal pH of 7, temperature of 37 C, and anaerobic conditions are maintained. A slight positive pressure (14.8 psia) as suggested in the problem statement maintains the anaerobic condition required for the reaction. The total volume from Seed Ferm 4A/4B is then pumped to Seed Ferm 5A/5B, which are 4,500 L vessels of 304 stainless steel construction. Sterilized glycerol feed from the feed preparation section is pumped to the fermenters to provide a working volume of ~3,200 L. The reaction proceeds for 60 hours. Then, the total volume from Seed Ferm 5A/5B is pumped to Seed Ferm 6A/6B, which are 85,000 L vessels of 304 stainless steel construction. Sterilized glycerol feed from the feed preparation section is pumped to the fermenters to provide a working volume of ~64,000 L. The reaction proceeds for 60 hours. The volume from Seed Ferm 6A/6B is then pumped to Seed Ferm 7A/7B, which are 650,000 L vessels of 304 stainless steel construction. Sterilized glycerol feed from the feed preparation section is pumped to the fermenters to provide a working volume of ~460,000 L. This volume is not a multiple of twenty from the previous scale fermenter, but rather it is determined by the portion of E. coli solution required for charging the twelve fermenters in the main fermentation section. After the 60 hour fermentation period, one sixth of the solution contained in Seed Ferm 7A/7B (~77,090 L) is pumped to one of the large fermenter (FERM1-12) units in the main fermentation section. This volume corresponds to 1/20 of the working volume required in the large scale fermenters, which have an initial working volume of 1,577,624 and an end working volume of 1,525,404 L.
48
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial The hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas evolved from these fermenters, along with the small portions of ethanol and water vaporized (4.9% and 0.49% by mass respectively) are sent through a blower (B-101) to the Absorber column (AB-1) in the separation section.
49
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Main Fermentation Section Twelve 2,000,000 L fermenter tanks of 304 stainless steel construction are the most important part of the process, where the majority of the ethanol and succinic acid are produced in a fully staggered batch processing mode. These fermenters also represent the bottleneck in the process schedule. The schedule of charging, fermenting, and draining in these fermenters is presented in Table PD-2. Cycle based on largest fermenters (bottleneck): Charge with biomass from Seed 7A/B Charge with glycerol feed from T-106 Ferment/React Drain to T-107 (95%) Charge with glycerol feed Ferment/React Drain to T-107 (95%) Charge with glycerol feed Ferment/React Drain to T-107 (100%) Clean-in-Place Total time (hr) 27 (stagger time) 5 60 5 5 60 5 5 60 5 60 297 hours
Table PD-2. Schedule for Batch Operation in Main Fermentation Section
One cycle consists of three fermentation/ reaction periods or batches, as seen above. All flow rate values in the batch material balance blocks refer to the flow requirements for one batch within each three-batch cycle. Before the first fermentation period, each FERM-1 through FERM-12 tank is charged with a volume from the smaller reactor Seed Ferm 7A/B (this volume corresponding to 1/20 of total FERM1 working volume), and then charged with sterilized glycerol feed from T-106 to reach the full working volume of ~1,525,404 L. The fermentation proceeds for 60 hours. After the first fermentation period, however, in FERM1 FERM12, 5% (1/20) of the volume is saved in the fermenter tank rather than drained to T-107. This portion remains as the seed from which the next reaction period begins. Therefore only 95% of the material proceeds to the continuous process
50
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial at this point. After the second 60-hour fermentation period in FERM1-FERM12, 5% of the volume is again retained. After the third fermentation, 100% is drained so that the tank can be cleaned. Shuler & Kargi outline the process of cell/biomass recycle and warn against it only in the case of genetically modified cells. Oftentimes in industrial processes, new E. coli cells are provided for every fermentation step (all grown from separate seed trains). However, the E. coli cells are not genetically modified, and are a wild strain, so there is little risk for genetic mutations. By recycling biomass, the cost for the landfill of solids is greatly reduced, and the number of seed fermenters is minimized. Due to the 95% draining for the first and second fermentation periods, to convert from batch to continuous in the mass balances, a multiplying factor of 2.9 (rather than 3) must be used, for determining the total liquid flow rate leaving the batch section over the 297 hour cycle time. Cleanliness dictates that eventually new biomass is used, however, as the sterilization of the equipment and incoming feed may not have been 100% effective. The number of fermentation periods before cleaning, three, was suggested by industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana, along with the 60 hour duration of the cleaning period. The cleaning system is designed as a clean-in-place system with a series of spray nozzles which will apply a dilute caustic solution to the inside of the fermentation units. The slightly exothermic fermentation reaction corresponds to an adiabatic temperature rise of about 10.4 F in each FERM1-12 unit, so a pump and heat exchanger (HX-FERM) are designed to maintain the optimal temperature of 37 C (98.6 F) by recirculating the material in the fermentation units for the duration of the fermentation periods. At the end of each fermentation period, the fermentation broth in each reactor contains about 10% ethanol by mass. The beer or broth is pumped from each fermenter unit to the fermentation broth holding tank, T-107. From this tank, broth is fed to the separation section, starting at HX-3.
51
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial The hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases evolved from these fermenters, along with the small portions of ethanol and water vaporized (4.9% and 0.49% by mass respectively) are sent through a blower (B-101) to the Absorber column (AB-1) in the separation section for further ethanol recovery. A visualization of the staggered schedule time is provided in Figure PD-1. Three separate 3batch, 297 hour cycles are displayed in the Gantt chart. The top bands of the Gantt chart represent the two seed fermentation trains, with seed fermenter 7A/7B represented by the bands with the gray portions, and the bottom bands represent the twelve 2,000,000 L fermentation tanks, with three 60 hour reaction times and one 60 hour cleaning time.
Figure PD-1. Gantt Chart: Schedule for Batch Operation in Main Fermentation Section
52
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Separation Section The separation section serves several purposes: recovering ethanol from the vapor phase leaving the fermenters, separating biomass from the fermentation broth, separating ethanol from water and succinic acid, and finally separating succinic acid from water. The biomass is separated in two steps, first through a rotary drum filter (RDF-1) which removes 266.5 kg/hr of biomass. The remaining 29.6 kg/hr is removed through a hopper in the bottom of the distillation tower. There are two ethanol feeds to the separations section of the plant. First and mainly, ethanol is fed from the fermenters through stream S-S-109. First, HX-3 heats up the fermentation broth to 92C, past the deactivation temperature of E. coli, by utilizing the heat from the bottoms stream of the distillation tower to reduce the re-boiler heat duty. After filtering out the biomass, this stream is fed into the distillation column (D-1). The second feed comes from the vapor released from the fermenters during the reaction period. This feed is supplied to the absorber tower AB-1 which absorbs the ethanol from the vapor. This stream is then fed into the distillation tower. The remaining vapor from AB-1, which contains a significant quantity of hydrogen, is fed into the furnace which supplies part of the reboiler heat duty. The distillation tower (D-1) is the main ethanol separation section. According to the molecular sieve specification information from Mr. Bruce Vrana, the column top product must be at least 92% by weight ethanol. The third feed to the tower is a recycle stream from the molecular sieves, which is used to purge the water extracted from the azeotropic feed. There are 32 theoretical stages which correlate to 79 internal actual stages plus the reboiler and condenser. The reboiler has a heat duty of 110.7MMBtu/hr, of which, 76.9MMBtu/hr is provided by the furnace (FN-1) which is fed by the hydrogen from the fermenters, while the remaining 33.8MMBtu/hr is provided by steam through a kettle vaporizer heat exchanger (HX-6). The condenser is a partial condenser because the feed to the 53
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial molecular sieve must be vapor. The condenser heat duty is -68.1MMBtu/hr, which is provided by cooling water through a heat exchanger (HX-4). The molecular sieves (MS-1) produce a stream of pure ethanol (>99.5% by weight) (S-S-112). However, in order to desorb the water from the molecular sieves, 20% of the ethanol produced must be used to flush the water out of the system, resulting in a steam with 37% by weight water (the remainder ethanol) that must be recycled to the distillation column in stream S-S-123. Stream S-S-123 can vary in composition according to the problem statement, so the distillation column was designed to produce 92.5% by weight Ethanol as the distillate so that small fluctuations do not result in lower than 92% by weight ethanol concentrations fed to the molecular sieves. The pure ethanol is then cooled to reduce its volatility in heat exchanger HX-5, which uses a cooling water utility. The ethanol is then denatured with Gasoline to 5% by volume before being stored to be sold. The bottoms product from the distillation column feeds into the section where succinic acid is separated. Here the feed contains water, succinic acid, and some remnants of corn steep liquor (mostly water and any salts not consumed by growing E. coli). Succinic acid is minimally soluble in water, while the salts in corn steep liquor are highly soluble. All solids that were part of the corn steep liquor have already been filtered out by RDF-1 and the hopper in the distillation column. In stream S-S-116 the concentration of succinic acid is 2.62 g/L, just below the solubility point of about 3 g/L. Electrodialysis can increase the concentration of succinic acid by at least four times according to Meynial-Salles et al. At 10.4 g/L or more, the succinic acid and corn steep liquor is fed into the crystallizer where the succinic acid precipitates to 3 g/L. The liquid is then re-circulated to the concentrated steam of the electrodialysis unit to reduce the loss of succinic acid. 10% by volume of the electro-dialysis solution is replenished by stream S-S-127, while 10% by volume is purged in S-S-134 to provide an outlet for the corn steep liquor. As the exact manner in which the corn steep liquor and succinic acid will precipitate is 54
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial more difficult to model, excessive quantities of purging and low increases in concentration through the electro-dialysis have been assumed to ensure the cost is lower than calculated. The specifics of this portion will need to be found through direct experimentation with the system. The succinic acid crystals are then dried in DR-1 before being stored and sold.
55
Energy Balance and Benchmark

Section V
56
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Energy Balance and Benchmark According to the problem statement, a current energy benchmark for a corn-based ethanol plant is 35,000 BTU/gallon of product. This includes all heat and electricity required by the process, excluding fuel required for the main distillation tower reboiler (as suggested in the problem statement, page 266). The bulk of this energy is likely used for processing corn solids. The glycerol to ethanol process has heating feeds of low pressure steam and high pressure steam, as well as electricity consumption. The total energy usage is 8,002 BTU/gallon ethanol, well below the benchmark number, broken down as follows:
$/year $/kg kg/year BTU/year BTU/gallon ethanol 914,652 0.0066 138,583,668 279,523,258,356 5,552
50 psig Steam
$/year $/kg kg/year BTU/year BTU/gallon ethanol 150 psig Steam 336,377 0.0105 32,035,925 60,611,969,722 1,204 $/year $/kW-hr kW-hr/year BTU/year BTU/gallon ethanol 1,103,316 0.0600 18,388,608 62,760,317,398 1,247 BTU/gallon ethanol 8,002
Electricity
Total:
Table E-2. Energy consumption in BTU/gallon of Ethanol for Energy Benchmark Comparison.
Energy use has been reduced significantly by two means. First, the hydrogen produced in the fermenters is fed to a furnace which provides most of the heat duty required for the reboiler. This reduces the amount of steam required for the plant. Second, the water from the bottoms product of the distillation column is fed back into a heat exchanger (HX-3) to heat sterilize the feed to the column and to reduce the energy requirement on the reboiler. The distillation column was also designed with minimal reflux, which reduces the heat requirement of the reboiler even further. In the glycerol feed preparation stage, continuous sterilization of the fermentation medium is performed using heat exchangers HX-1 and HX-2. HX-1 is used to reduce energy requirements of the
57
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial plant. Glycerol is fed at 25C and heated to 111C by the sterilized glycerol, which enters at 121C and exits at 37C and transfers 59.6 MMBTU/hr. See calculations on page 226. As the broth from the fermenter is fed to the distillation column, HX-3 heats the feed to reduce the heat requirement of the re-boiler and deactivate the E. coli in the fermentation broth. This is done by using the water from the bottoms product of the tower. Feed enters at 37C and is heated to 92.2C while cooling the water from 109C to 43.3C. Both HX-1 and HX-3 save the energy required to heat the stream and the cooling water that would have been necessary to cool the other stream. Furnace FN-1 is used to take advantage of the hydrogen energy source produced in the fermenters. Hydrogen would be expensive to isolate and package, however the process takes advantage of the hydrogen energy content by using it to supply heat to the reboiler. By combusting the hydrogen, 76.9 MMBTU/hr is able to be transferred to the reboiler at no cost. In addition to the balances discussed above, additional energy requirements are necessary to provide cooling, heating and power during the process. Cooling is needed in the condenser of the distillation column, in HX-5 to cool the ethanol to reduce volatility, and in HX-FERM (1-12) to cool the fermenters during reaction times. A portion of chilled water is mixed with the cooling water to cool the fermenters. Low pressure steam is used in the distillation tower reboiler (HX-6) and for the molecular sieves (MS-1). High pressure steam is used to heat the glycerol sterilizer (HX-2) due to the high temperature required. Electricity is used to run all the agitators, pumps, blowers, rotary drum filter, electro-dialysis system, and molecular sieves. Shown below are the energy requirements of our process broken down by utility type. Utilities which remove heat have been included here, such as cooling water and chilled water.
58

150 psig Steam cost( $/1000 kg) Cost/hour Cost/year $10.50 $42.47 $336,377.21 $336,377.21 50 psig Steam cost( $/1000 kg) cost/hr cost/yr $6.60 $110.72 $876,862.80 $6.60 $4.77 $37,789.41 $914,652.21 Cooling Water m^3/hr $/m^3 1087870
23766 447318 1087.87
Equipment HX-2 Total:
kg/hr 4045
Equipment HX-6 MS-1 Total:
kg/hr
16775 723
Equipment HX-4 HX-5 MS-1 HX-FERM Total:
l/hr
21003
23.77 447.32 21.00
$0.02 $0.02 $0.02 $0.02
cost/hr $21.76 $0.48 $8.95 $0.42
$172,318.61 $3,764.55 $70,855.17 $2,015.78 $248,954.11
Equipment HX-FERM Total:
Chilled Water BTU/HR BTU/day $/btu $/day $/yr 298540 7164949.62 $0.0000041667 $29.85
$9,851.81 $9,851.81
Equipment P-S-101 P-S-102 P-S-104 P-S-105 P-S-106 P-S-107 P-S-108 CB-1 RDF-1 Agitator for T-108 ED-1 B-102 MS-1 P-FA A P-FA B P-FB A P-FB B
HP 68 37 10 15 68 47 7 1 12 4 1603 67 67 2 2
Kw
Electricity cost($ / kW-hr) cost/hr cost/yr 50.67 $0.06 $3.04 $24,078.53 27.82 $0.06 $1.67 $13,221.04 7.81 $0.06 $0.47 $3,710.11 11.12 $0.06 $0.67 $5,283.46 50.92 $0.06 $3.05 $24,195.47 34.91 $0.06 $2.09 $16,587.43 5.30 $0.06 $0.32 $2,516.47 0.75 $0.06 $0.04 $354.36 8.78 $0.06 $0.53 $4,173.26 2.98 $0.06 $0.18 $1,417.43 $190,200.00 1195.09 $0.06 $71.71 $567,908.07 $4.77 $37,789.41 50.13 $0.06 $3.01 $1,202.75 50.13 $0.06 $3.01 $1,202.75 1.72 $0.06 $0.10 $445.47 1.72 $0.06 $0.10 $445.47
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P-FC A P-FC B P-FD B-101 Agitators Ferm 1-12 Agitator for T-107 P-FE(1-12) P-101A P-101B P-102A P-102B P-103A P-103B P-104A P-104B P-105A P-105B P-106A P-106B P-107A P-107B Agitator for Ferm6A Agitator for Ferm6B Agitator for Ferm7A Agitator for Ferm7B P-FP-01 P-FP-02 P-FP-03 P-FP-04 P-FP-05 P-FP-06 Agitator for T-105 Total: 43 43 37 416 240 20 44 1 1 7 7 11 11 20 20 1 1 9 9 14 14 2 2 17 17 9 34 0 5 2 45 33 31.89 31.89 27.55 310.51 178.97 14.91 32.66 0.83 0.83 5.59 5.59 8.03 8.03 15.10 15.10 0.91 0.91 6.91 6.91 10.20 10.20 1.67 1.67 12.80 12.80 6.96 25.11 0.11 3.75 1.14 33.88 24.31 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $1.91 $1.91 $1.65 $18.63 $10.74 $0.89 $1.96 $0.05 $0.05 $0.34 $0.34 $0.48 $0.48 $0.91 $0.91 $0.05 $0.05 $0.41 $0.41 $0.61 $0.61 $0.10 $0.10 $0.77 $0.77 $0.42 $1.51 $0.01 $0.22 $0.07 $2.03 $1.46 $4,591.53 $4,591.53 $13,089.93 $89,404.36 $51,529.89 $7,087.13 $9,404.20 $0.13 $0.13 $8.93 $8.93 $12.84 $12.84 $96.62 $96.62 $0.15 $0.15 $1.10 $1.10 $16.32 $16.32 $482.12 $482.12 $3,686.79 $3,686.79 $3,308.48 $11,934.38 $51.66 $1,780.29 $542.02 $16,099.56 $11,552.02 $1,103,316.45
Table E-2. Energy Utility Requirements for the Process.
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Unit Descriptions
Section VI
Feed Preparation Section..... 62 Plant Seed Fermentation Section...... 70 Main Fermentation Section..... 77 Separation Section........ 84
61
Feed Preparation Section
Storage Tanks:
Crude Glycerol Storage Tank T-101 Base Purchase Cost: $ 564,600 T-101 is a floating roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 3,165,300 L. This tank holds the crude glycerol feedstock that comes as the byproduct of the biodiesel industry. The feed is assumed to be at standard temperature and pressure conditions of 25C and 1 atm and will be stored at these conditions. This storage tank holds three days worth of feed and has a working volume of 80%. Stream S-FP-101 leaves this holding tank at a flow rate of 35,170 L/hr and flows through pump P-FP-01 then to the Glycerol Purification System, R-101. The composition of the crude glycerol feedstock is assumed to be 85% glycerol, 7% water, 4% salts, and 4% MONG (Matter Organic, Non-Glycerol) by weight, as per the suggested average crude glycerol feed (EET Corporation). These percentages were used for completing the material balance, however, it should be noted that crude glycerol is characterized by an unpredictable composition. The process has been designed to be flexible regarding the glycerol feedstock composition. The vessel has a floating roof due the possible presence of methanol or other volatiles in the crude glycerol feedstock. Calculations on page 242. Cornsteep Liquor Storage Tank T-103 Base Purchase Cost: $49,600 T-103 is a cone roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 83,500 L. This vessel stores three days worth of corn steep liquor, a material that provides minerals and amino acids for the E. Coli. Stream S-FP-106 leaves this tank at a flow rate of 927 L/hr and flows through pump
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial P-FP-03 then into mixing tank, T-105.The corn steep liquor will be stored at a temperature of 25 C and a pressure of 1 atm. The storage tank is assumed to have a working volume of 80%. Calculations on page 225. Brine Storage Tank T-104 Base Purchase Cost: $65,700 T-104 is a cone roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 145,000 L. This is one days worth of salt solution (brine 36% by weight) extracted from the glycerol feed. It will be stored at a temperature of 25C and a pressure of 1 atm. Stream S-FP-103 flows into this tank via pump P-FP-05, from the Glycerol Purification System at a flow rate of 4,832 L/hr. The storage tank is assumed to have a working volume of 80%. Salt water will leave the process from this tank to be sent to the ocean. Calculations on page 242. Mixing Tank T-105 Base Purchase Cost: $ 42,500 T-105 is a cone roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 61,730 L. Streams S-FP-115 (fresh water), S-P-104 (purified glycerol/water mixture), S-FP-105 (recycle water) and S-FP-106 (corn steep liquor) all flow into this tank for mixing. The tank is assumed to have a working volume of 50% and a residence time of 10 minutes. It is assumed to operate at 25 C and 1 atm. The tank has an agitator (turbine, closed tank) for mixing that is priced at $29,900 (see page 210) including the motor and shaft costs. Calculations on page 242.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Sterilized Feed Holding Tank T-106 Base Purchase Cost: $ 338,000 T-106 is a floating roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 1,157,500 L. This tank is the transition point between the continuous feed preparation section and the batch fermentation sections. Sterilized feed in stream S-FP-112 flows into this tank at a flow rate of 185,192 L/hr then out to the fermentation stage section. The sterilized feed is stored at a temperature of 25 C and a pressure of 1 atm. This storage tank is assumed to have a working volume of 80%. Calculations on page 242.
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Heat Exchangers:
HX-1 Base Purchase Cost: $132,300 HX-1 is a floating head shell and tube heat exchanger that preheats the feed from mixing tank T105 before it enters HX-2. This preheating reduces the amount of steam needed in HX-2 to bring the feed to the sterilization temperature 121C (250 F) and cools the sterilized feed to the required fermentation temperature. Stream S-FP-114 is heated from 25C to 111C (or 77 F to 231.86 F) by the hot sterile feed from HX-2, S-FP-109 that is cooled from 121 C to 37 C (or 250 F to 98.6 F). The heat duty is 59,665,811 BTU /hr. The heat exchanger is 304 stainless steel shell side/ 304 stainless steel tube side since both sides are in contact with feed. Calculations on page 226. HX-2 Base Purchase Cost: $22,100 Pre heated stream Feed (S-FP-108) is heated further by steam from 111C to 121C (or from 231.86F to 250 F). This is the sterilization temperature (for all organisms, spores). This is a floating head shell and tube heat exchanger.. The heat duty is 7,738,512 BTU/hr. This exchanger is a carbon steel shell side / 304 stainless steel tube side because the shell side material is steam. Calculations on page 226.
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Pumps:
P-FP-01 Base Purchase Cost: $ 4,500 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps crude glycerol from tank T-101 to the Glycerol Purification System. The flow rate through the pump is 35,170 L/hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 9.34 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.59 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. A pressure change of 50 psia (344 kPa) was assumed as a result of frictional forces of the fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-FP-02 Base Purchase Cost: $ 8,400 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps process water to the mixing tank T-105 for dilution of the glycerol feed. The flow rate through the pump is 151,105 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 33.68 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.74 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of the fluid flow. Calculations on page 233.
P-FP-03 Base Purchase Cost: $ 4,100 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps corn steep liquor from tank T-103 to the mixing tank T-105. The flow rate through the pump is 927 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 0.15 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.60 while the motor
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial operates at an efficiency of 0.76. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-FP-04 Base Purchase Cost: $ 3,900 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps a glycerol/water solution from the Glycerol Purification System R-101 to the mixing tank T-105. The flow rate through the pump is 32,356 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 5.02 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.58 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-FP-05 Base Purchase Cost: $ 3,500 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps a salt solution from the Glycerol Purification System R-101 to the Brine Storage Tank T-104. The flow rate through the pump is 4,832 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 1.53 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.31 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.80. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-FP-06 Base Purchase Cost: $ 10,100 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps mixed feed solution from the mixing tank T-105 through the sterilization heat exchangers and then to the Sterilized Feed Storage Tank T-106. The flow rate through the pump is 185,192 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the 67
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial pump is 45.53 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.76 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow . Calculations on page 233.
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Miscellaneous:
Glycerol Purification System R-101 Estimated Purchase Cost: $ 430,800 The Glycerol Purification System is a licensed unit purchased from EET Corporation that has the ability to purify a variety of incoming crude glycerol feeds from the biodiesel industry. It removes MONG (Matter Organic Non-Glycerol, typically monoglycerides, diglycerides, and free fatty acids), any methanol present, chloride or phosphate salts, and any solids. The glycerol purification system uses the patent pending (See Appendix C for patent application) HEED (High-Efficiency Electro-Dialysis) and HEEPM (High-Efficiency Electro-Pressure Membrane) technologies, in parallel with reverse osmosis, to purify the crude glycerol stream S-FP-101. The output from the process is a cake of MONG that, at the suggestion of industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana can be given to farmers for use as a nutrient (S-FP113), a concentrated salt water solution (S-S-103) that can be sent to the ocean, and a glycerol/water solution (S-FP-104) that is sent to the mixing tank T-105 to be combined with water and corn steep liquor for feed preparation. The quantity of crude glycerol purified by the system will depend on the feed, but at the average value of 85 % by weight glycerol in the crude glycerol feed, the system will handle 43,370 kg solution per hour, removing 1,735 kg/hr of MONG and 1,735 kg/hr of salts. Although precise technical information was not available from EET Corporation, extensive information from the EET Corporation website is provided in Appendix D. Operating costs for the glycerol purification system were not estimated because technical specifications were not available. Calculations on page 225.
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Seed Fermentation Train (Plant and Lab)
Fermenters:
Laboratory Scale Fermenters (Seed Ferm 1A/1B, Seed Ferm 2A/2B, Seed Ferm 3A/3B) (2 each) Every 297 hour cycle starts with two 1mL aliquots of E. Coli cells, one for seed fermentation train A, and one for seed fermentation train B. The cells are grown to larger volumes in a train of fermenters, where each successive fermenter working volume is 20 times the size of the initial, because 2,000,000 L tanks cannot be charged with 1 mL portions of cells (too much dilution). Each cell aliquot is charged first to either Seed Ferm 1A or 1B (test tubes with volumes of 25 mL), then grown up in each successive laboratory-sized fermenter (Seed 2A/2B: 400 mL of solution in 500 mL flask, Seed 3A/3B: 8 L of solution in 10 L tank) until the contents of Seed Ferm 3A/3B can be transferred to 200 L tanks Seed Ferm 4A/4B in the plant-scale section. The cells are grown in these fermenters for 60 hours, until the ethanol concentration is 100 g/L, at a temperature of 37C, 14.8 psia and pH 7, consuming the same glycerol feed solution that is used in the plant-scale section. The positive pressure maintains the anaerobic condition required for fermentation. These fermenters are made of glass (test tube, flask) or 304 stainless steel (tank). Calculations on page 220. Seed Ferm 4A/4B (2) This is the first vessel outside of the laboratory setting in the seed fermentation train. This vessel is constructed of 304 stainless steel and has a capacity of 200 L, while its working volume is 78-81% of this value. The product from Seed Ferm 3A is gravity-transferred to Seed Ferm 4A, and the product from Seed Ferm 3B is gravity-transferred to Seed Ferm 4B. This product contains enough E. coli to grow in a fermenter unit of this size. Sterilized feed is pumped from the Sterilized Feed Holding Tank T-106 to the units through pumps P-101 (1 and 2). The fermenter has a height of 3.30 ft and diameter of 1.65 ft.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Optimal growth conditions of 37C, 14.8 psia and pH 7 are maintained in the vessel. The positive pressure maintains the anaerobic condition required for fermentation. The fermentation time is 60 hours since the end ethanol concentration is 100 g/L. The product from this is fed to either Seed Ferm 5A or Seed Ferm 5B. Calculations on page 220. Seed Ferm 5A/5B (2) Base Purchase Cost: $30,700 This is the second vessel outside of the laboratory setting, in the plant-scale section. The vessel is constructed of 304 stainless steel and has a capacity of 4,500 L, while its working volume is 70-72% of this value. The product from Seed Ferm 4A is pumped to Seed Ferm 5A through pump P-105 (1) or the product from Seed Ferm 4B is pumped to Seed Ferm 5B through pump P-105 (2). Sterilized feed is pumped from the Sterilized Feed Holding Tank T-106 to the units through pumps P-102 (1 and 2).The fermenter has a height of 9.31 ft and diameter of 4.66 ft. Optimal growth conditions of 37C, 14.8 psia and pH 7 are maintained in the vessel. The positive pressure maintains the anaerobic condition required for fermentation. The fermentation time for this is 60 hours since the end ethanol concentration is 100 g/L. The product from this is fed to either Seed Ferm 6A or Seed Ferm 6B. Calculations on page 220. Seed Ferm 6A/6B (2) Base Purchase Cost: $ 100,900 This is the third vessel outside of the laboratory setting, in the plant-scale section. The product from Seed Ferm 5A is pumped to Seed Ferm 6A through pump P-106 (1) or the product from Seed Ferm 5B is pumped to Seed Ferm 6B through pump P-106 (2). The vessel is constructed of 304 stainless steel and has a capacity of 85,000 liters, while its working volume is 74-77% of this value. Sterilized feed is pumped from the Sterilized Feed Holding Tank T-106 to the units through pumps P-103 (1 and 2).The 71
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial fermenter has a height of 24.81 ft and diameter of 12.41 ft. Optimal growth conditions of 37C, 14.8 psia and pH 7 are maintained in the vessel. The positive pressure maintains the anaerobic condition required for fermentation. The fermentation time for this is 60 hours since the end ethanol concentration is 100 g/L. The product from this is then fed to Seed Ferm 7A/7B. ). Seed fermenters 6A and 6B have 304 stainless steel agitators to maintain cell suspension and prevent adverse temperature or pH gradients. These agitators have a base purchase cost of $6,500. Calculations on page 220. Seed Ferm 7A/7B (2) Base Purchase Cost: $ 150,400.00 This is the last fermentation vessel in the seed train. The vessel is constructed of 304 stainless steel and has a capacity of 650,000 liters. The working volume ranges from 70-72%. One sixth of the working volume of each of these two fermenters is fed to each one of the large-scale fermenters FERM1-12 during the cycle. One sixth of the working volume of Seed Ferm 7A is equivalent to the 1/20 by volume portion required to charge fermenters FERM1-12. The volume transferred to each large fermenter is ~77,090 L. Therefore the working volume of these tanks is approximated to ~460,000 L. The product from Seed Ferm 6A is pumped to Seed Ferm 7A through pump P-107 (1) or the product from Seed Ferm 6B is pumped to Seed Ferm 7B through pump P-107 (2). Sterilized feed is pumped from the Sterilized Feed Holding Tank T-106 to the units through pumps P-104 (1 and 2).The fermenter has a height of 48.88 ft and diameter of 24.44 ft. Optimal growth conditions of 37C, 14.8 psia and pH 7 are maintained in the vessel. The positive pressure maintains the anaerobic condition required for fermentation. The fermentation time for this is 60 hours since the end ethanol concentration is 100 g/L. One sixth of the working volume of each 7A/7B reactor is fed to each of the fermenters FERM 1 through FERM 6 (from Seed Ferm 7A) through pump P-FB (1) or fermenters FERM through FERM 12 (from Seed Ferm 7B) through pump P-FB (2). Seed fermenters 7A and 7B have 304 stainless steel agitators to 72
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial maintain cell suspension and prevent adverse temperature or pH gradients. These agitators have a base purchase cost of $20,700. Calculations on page 220.
Pumps:
P-101 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $3,700 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps sterilized feed from T106 to the first plant scale fermentation tank, which is either Ferm 4A or Ferm 4B. Sterilized feed flows through the pump at a flow rate of 2600 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 1.12 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.20 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.80. The pump head is 59.21 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction, is 10.2 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs for 0.06 hours of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233. P-102 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $4,400 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps sterilized feed from T106 to the second plant scale fermentation tank, which is either Ferm 5A or 5B. Sterilized feed flows through the pump at a flow rate of 51,950 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 7.49 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.63 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. The pump head is 64.97 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 28.9 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs for 0.06 hours of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial P-103 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $4,900 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps sterilized feed from T106 to the third plant scale fermentation tank, which is either Ferm 6A or 6B. Sterilized feed flows through the pump at a flow rate of 62,325 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 10.76 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.65 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. The pump head is 80.46 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 76.9 kPa . An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs 1 hour of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233. P-104 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $6,400 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps sterilized feed from T106 to the fourth plant scale fermentation tank, which is either Ferm 7A or 7B. Sterilized feed flows through the pump at a flow rate of 96,683 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 20.25 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.70 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. The pump head is 104.5 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 151.5 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs 4 hours of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial P-105 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $3,600 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the volume of product in S-106 either from seed Ferm 4A into seed Ferm 5A or seed Ferm 4B to seed Ferm 5B. It pumps liquid at a rate of 2,628 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 1.22 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.20 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.80. The pump head is 69.1 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 26.9 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs 0.06 hours of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233. P-106 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $4,700 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the volume of product in S-107 either from Ferm 5A into Ferm 6A or seed Ferm 5B to Ferm 6B. It pumps liquid at a rate of 53,349.40 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 9.26 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.64 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. The pump head is 84.7 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 71.5 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs 0.06 hours of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233. P-107 (2) Base Purchase Cost: $5,300 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of stainless steel 304 that pumps the volume of product in S-108 from either Ferm 6A into Ferm 7A or seed Ferm 6B to Ferm 7B. It operates at a rate of 75
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial 63,293.21 litres/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 13.68 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.66 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. The pump head is 108.7 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 141.0 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump runs 1 hour of the 297 hour cycle. Calculations on page 233.
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Main Fermentation Section
Fermenters:
FERM 1-12 (12) Base Purchase Cost: $341,500 The most important units in the fermentation process are the large production fermentation vessels, each having a volume of 2,000,000 L, with a working volume ranging from 76-79%. In these twelve tanks, E. coli cells produce the majority of the ethanol via the anaerobic fermentation of the glycerol feedstock. Optimal growth conditions of 37C, 14.8 psia and pH 7 are maintained in the vessel. The positive pressure maintains the anaerobic condition required for fermentation. The fermentation time for this is 60 hours since the end ethanol concentration is 100 g/L. After the fermentation in Seed Ferm 7A/7B is complete, a 1/6 by volume portion of each of the seed fermenters contents are charged to each of Ferm 1-12, this portion corresponding to a volume of 5% (1/20) of the total FERM 1-12 working volume. The charging time is 27 hrs to allow for a staggered batch running of the fermenters. The contents of Seed Ferm 7A/7B are only supplied to the large fermenters at the start of the first fermentation period of each three-fermentation-period cycle. Sterilized feed from Sterilized Feed Holding Tank T-106 is fed to the large fermenters through pump P-FA over the course of 5 hours at a rate of 311,228 kg/hr, at the start of all three fermentation periods per cycle. After the first 60-hour fermentation period, 95% of the volume is drained into the fermentation broth storage tank T-107.The remaining 5% remains in the vessel as the seed from which the next reaction period begins. This is done twice, and at the end of the third reaction cycle, 100% of the contents are drained into T-107. At this point the fermenters are cleaned using the clean-in-place technique, during which a dilute caustic solution is applied to the tank surface through spray nozzles. As the initial stagger/ charging time is 27 hours, the feed charging time is 5 hours (x3 charging periods), the 77
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial reaction time is 60 hours (x3 fermentation periods), the fermenter draining time is 5 hours (x3 draining periods), and the cleaning time is 60 hours, the resulting total cycle time, after 3 fermentation periods, is 297 hours. The large fermenters are the equipment bottleneck in the process. During the reaction time carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas are evolved, and 4.9% of the produced ethanol and 0.49% of the water are vaporized. This gaseous stream leaving the fermentation units is moved by a blower near the top of all the fermenters that sends the fermentation gases to the Absorber unit AB-1 in the separation section. The gases leave the fermenters at a flow rate of 879.28 kg/hr. Heat is evolved in one fermentation reactor due to the slightly exothermic reaction from glycerol to ethanol. The adiabatic temperature rise corresponds to 5.7C (10.4F) A heat exchanger, HXFerm, is required for each of the twelve fermenters to ensure the temperature of the reactors remain at 37C. The fermenters are constructed from 304 stainless steel. With a 2:1 height to width ratio, the cylindrical vessels are 71 ft tall and have a diameter of 35.5 ft. They are field fabricated. These fermentation tanks also have 304 stainless steel agitators to prevent cell settling and adverse concentration or pH gradients. These agitators have a base purchase cost of $44,200 (see page 210 for Agitator pricing calculations). Calculations on page 220.
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Storage Tanks:
Broth Storage Tank: T-107 Base Purchase Cost: $ 582,900 T-107 is a floating roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 3,370,600 L. Fermentation broth containing ethanol is pumped into the tank from all twelve 2,000,000 L fermenters through pump P-FC (1 and 2) at the end of all fermentation periods. Broth leaves the storage tank continuously at a flow rate of 178,735 L/hr and is pumped through pump P-FD to the separation section, where it first enters HX-3. The broth is stored at a temperature of 37 C and a pressure of 1 atm. This storage tank is assumed to have a maximum working volume of 80%, but the working volume changes depending on the time in the cycle. This tank has an agitator to prevent the settling of E. coli cells at the bottom of the tank before continuous filtration. This agitator has a base price of $44,100. Calculations on page 220.
Heat Exchangers:
HX-FERM (12) Base Purchase Cost: $4,200 This is the heat exchanger that is used to cool the contents of each 2,000,000 L fermentation tank FERM1-12. One heat exchanger and accompanying pump is provided for each fermenter, so as to prevent total contamination in the case that one fermenter unit is somehow contaminated. The solution from stream S-141 flows through the heat exchanger at a flow rate of 25,423 L/hr. The fluid is circulated over a period of 60 hours (fermentation time) and the heat duty corresponds to the amount of heat required to cool the contents of one reactor from 109 F to 98.6 F (42.7 C to 37 C), determined from the adiabatic temperature rise associated with the slightly exothermic fermentation reaction. The fermentation solution is cooled using a mixture of cooling water and chilled water (where cooling water 79
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial makes up 95% of the heat duty) at a mass flow rate of 22,063 kg/hr, which is heated from 87.6 F to 99 F (30.9 C to 37.2 C). This is a Double Pipe Heat Exchanger due to the smaller exchanger area requirements. The heat duty is 518,297 BTU/hr. This exchanger is carbon steel shell side / stainless steel tube side because the shell side material is water. Calculations on page 226.
Pumps:
P-FA (2) Base Purchase Cost: $19,400 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps sterilized feed from T106 to the 6 fermenter tanks that are operating in each fermentation train. It pumps sterilized feed at a rate of 300,300 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 67.22 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.79 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. The pump head is 126.8 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 220 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump is operational for 15 hours of the 297 hour cycle time. Calculations on page 233. P-FB (2) Base Purchase Cost: $3,600 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps seed feed from the Seed Fermentation Train A/B to each of the fermenters Ferm 1-12. It pumps the volume of Seed 7A/7B to the main fermentation section at a rate of 2,820 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 2.31 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.21 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.81. The pump head is 130.9 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 205 kPa. An additional
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial pressure change of 25 psia (17.2 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump is operational for 162 hours of the 297 hour cycle time. Calculations on page 233. P-FC (2) Base Purchase Cost: $ 15,700 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the broth product from the fermenters Ferm 1-12 into Broth Storage Tank T-107. It operates at a rate of 1,525,403 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 42.77 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.79 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. The pump head is 85.4ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 73.9 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (17.2 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. The pump is operational for 90 hours of the 297 hour cycle time. Calculations on page 233. P-FD Base Purchase Cost: $9,000 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the fermentation product from the broth storage tank, T-107 to the separation process section. It pumps fermentation broth continuously at a rate of 178,734 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 36.94 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.75 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. The pump head is 120 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 205 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (17.2 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-FE (12) Base Purchase Cost: $6,600 81
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that continuously pumps the solution in each fermenter tank through a heat exchanger, HX FERM, to maintain the fermentation temperature of 37C. It pumps fermentation solution at a flow rate of 25,423 L/hr in a closed circuit through HX FERM and back to the FERM1-12. The energy requirement for the pump is 3.65 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.55 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.81. The pump head is 59.8 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 205 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233.
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Blowers:
B-101 Base Purchase Cost: $70,500 This centrifugal blower facilitates the transport of the fermentation gases and vapors from the fermentation seed fermenters and the large 2,000,000 L fermentation tanks to the absorber in the separation section so that the vaporized ethanol can be saved and the effluent hydrogen gas can be burned to fuel the distillation tower reboiler. The flow rate of gases through the blower is 10,614 ft3/min. The blower efficiency is 0.75, and the motor that powers the blower has an efficiency of 0.92. The power consumption is 300 HP. The blower is made of aluminum. Calculations on page 213.
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Separation Section
Storage Tanks:
Mixing Tank T-108 Base Purchase Cost: $26,800 T-108 is a floating roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 8,021 L. Streams S-S-124 (ethanol) and S-S-125(gasoline) flow into this tank for mixing. The tank is assumed to have a working volume of 50% and a residence time of 10 minutes. It is assumed to operate at 50 C and 1 atm. The tank has an agitator (turbine, closed tank) for mixing that is priced at $9,100 including the motor and shaft costs. Calculations on page 242. Gasoline Storage Tank T-109 Base Purchase Cost $ 101,000 T-109 is a floating roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 108,278 L. This vessel stores three days worth of gasoline, a material that is added to denature the ethanol that is produced. Stream S-S-125 leaves this tank at a flow rate of 475 L/hr and flows into mixing tank, T-108.The gasoline will be stored at a temperature of 25 C and a pressure of 1 atm. The storage tank is assumed to have a working volume of 80%. Calculations on page 242. Succinic Acid Storage TankT-110 Base Purchase Cost $ 27,600 T-110 is a cone roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume 26,478 L. This vessel stores three days worth of succinic acid . Stream S-S-121 flows into this tank via a conveyor belt at a rate of 459 kg/hr. The solid succinic acid will be stored at a temperature of 25 C and a pressure of 1 atm. The storage tank is assumed to have a working volume of 80%. 84
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Calculations on page 242. Denatured Ethanol Holding Tank T-111 Base Purchase Cost $ 453,300 T-111 is a floating roof storage vessel constructed of 304 stainless steel with a volume of 2,057,287 L. This vessel stores three days worth of denatured ethanol. This stream (S-S-126) enters the tank after being denatured in the mixing tank T-108. Stream S-S-126 enters this tank at a flow rate of 22,859 L/hr. The ethanol will be stored at a temperature of 50 C and a pressure of 1 atm. The storage tank is assumed to have a working volume of 80%. Calculations on page 242.
Heat Exchangers:
HX-3 Base Purchase Cost: $113,900 The waste water from the electro-dialysis unit, Stream S-S-135, is used to sterilize the fermentation product (S-S-109). The sterilized stream then flows into the Rotary Drum Filter (RDF-1). The heat duty is 48,041,600 BTU/hr. Stream S-S-109 is heated from 37 C to 92.2 C, past the deactivation temperature for E. coli of 62.2C, (or from 98.6 F to 198 F) while the 21 psi water (S-S-135) leaving ED-1 (Electrodialysis) is cooled from 100 C to 43.3 C (or from 228 F to 110.4 F). HX-3 is a Floating Head Shell/Tube heat exchanger and is modeled as a carbon steel shell side/ stainless steel tube side since the shell side material is hot water. The heat exchanger area is 9997 ft2. Calculations on page 226.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Partial Condenser: HX-4 Base Purchase Cost: $ 65,900 This is a partial condenser for the distillation tower D-1.The top product from the tower(S-S-130) flows through this heat exchanger before entering the reflux accumulator, RA-1. The heat duty is 68,130,000 BTU/hr. Stream S-S-130 has a flow rate of 189,673 kg/hr and is partially condensed at 82 C (179.5 F) using cooling water (S-S-106) that is heated from 32.2 C to 48.9 C (90 F to 120 F). The cooling water has a flow rate of 1,087,869 kg/hr. HX-4 is a Floating Head Shell/Tube heat exchanger and is a carbon steel on the shell side and stainless steel on the tube side since the shell side material is water. The exchanger area is 4,636 ft2. Calculations on page 226. HX-5 Base Purchase Cost: $21,200 The ethanol product stream (S-S-122) from the molecular sieve (MS-1) is cooled before entering the mixing tank to be denatured. The ethanol is cooled from its atmospheric boiling point of 78.4 C to 50 C (173 F to 122 F) using cooling water. The flow rate of the cooling water(S-S-136) IS 23,766 kg/hr and it is warmed from 32.2 C to 48.9 C (90 F to 120 F). The heat duty is 1,488,726 BTU/hr. HX-5 is a Floating Head Shell/Tube heat exchanger and is modeled as a carbon steel shell side/ stainless steel tube side since the shell side material is cooling water. The heat exchanger area is 239 ft2. Calculations on page 226. Reboiler: HX-6 Base Purchase Cost: $60,300 The remaining 33.78MMBtu/hr of the heat duty for the reboiler is provided by a kettle reboiler heat exchanger which is heated with 16,775 kg/hr of condensing 50 psig steam. A heat transfer coefficient of 200 Btu/hr-ft2-F was used to calculate a heat transfer area of 2,412 ft3. The heat 86
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial exchanger is 304 stainless steel on the tube side, and carbon steel on the shell side. The vapor stream leaving the reboiler (S-S-133) is sent back to the distillation column, while the liquid stream leaving the reboiler is sent to the electro-dialysis (ED-1) system. Calculations on page 226.
Pumps:
P-S-101 Base Purchase Cost: $13,100 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the liquid fermentation product from the rotary drum filter, RDF-1 to the distillation tower, D-1. The flow rate through the pump is 174,995 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 67.9 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.75 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. The pump head is 221 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 475 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-S-102 Base Purchase Cost: $9,000 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the stream containing the succinic acid product, S-S-116 from the furnace (FN-1) to the electro-dialysis system (ED-1). The flow rate through the pump is 180,559 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 37.3 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.75 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. A pressure change of 50 psia (344 kPa) was assumed as a result of frictional forces of the fluid flow. Calculations on page 233.
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial P-S-104 Base Purchase Cost: $4,700 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the product stream S-S119 from the crystallizer C-1 back to the electro dialysis unit. The flow rate through the pump is 40,625 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 10.5 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.61 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. A pressure change of 50 psia (344 kPa) was assumed as a result of frictional forces of the fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-S-105 Base Purchase Cost: $ 5,200 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the liquid stream S-S104 scrubbed out in the absorber AB-1 to the distillation tower D-1. The flow rate through the pump is 29,396 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 14.9 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.57 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. The pump head is 222 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 464 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-S-106 Base Purchase Cost: $ 13,500 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the stream S-S-128 from the reflux accumulator RA-1 to the distillation tower D-1. It operates continuously at a rate of 205,879 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 68.28 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.76 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. The pump head is 234 ft. The pressure change across
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial the pump, neglecting friction is 389 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-S-107 Base Purchase Cost: $15,700 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of 304 stainless steel that pumps the bottoms product of the distillation column D-1 to the furnace FN-1 via stream S-131. The flow rate through the pump is 232,717 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 46.81 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.77 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.83. A pressure change of 50 psia (344 kPa) was assumed as a result of frictional forces of the fluid flow. Calculations on page 233. P-S-108 Base Purchase Cost: $7,200 This is a centrifugal pump constructed of stainless steel 304 that pumps process water to the absorber. It operates continuously at a rate of 27,023 L/ hr. The energy requirement for the pump is 7.1 Hp and the pump operates at an efficiency of 0.56 while the motor operates at an efficiency of 0.82. The pump head is 108 ft. The pressure change across the pump, neglecting friction is 150 kPa. An additional pressure change of 25 psia (172.5 kPa) was assumed as a result of the frictional forces of fluid flow. Calculations on page 223320.
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Blowers:
B-102 Base Purchase Cost: $ 264,200 This centrifugal blower facilitates the transport of air to the furnace (FN-1) in the separation section so that the effluent gases can be burned to fuel the distillation tower reboiler. The flow rate of air through the blower is 70,214 ft3/min. The blower efficiency is 0.75, and the motor that powers the blower has an efficiency of 0.94. The power consumption is 1602 HP. The blower is made of aluminum. Calculations on page 213.
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Columns:
Distillation Column : D-1 Base Purchase Cost: $ 798,000 The distillation column serves to remove a majority of the water and all the succinic acid from the feed streams (S-S-104 & S-S-112) and recycle stream (S-S-123) which together have a flow rate of 205,972 kg/hr and are composed of water, succinic acid, corn steep liquor, biomass, and ethanol. Streams S-S-104, S-S-112 and S-S-123 enter the column at stages 16, 12, and 11 respectively. By this point, the corn steep liquor has had all solids filtered out, and is a selection of water and salts which do not vaporize and therefore leave as bottoms product. It is necessary that the top product be 92% ethanol by weight for the subsequent processing by molecular sieves, so 179,000 kg/hr of water, along with all the corn steep liquor and succinic acid must leave as bottoms product. The small quantity of remaining biomass is filtered out by a hopper, and leaves as a separate stream (S-S-139, 29.6 kg/hr) from the bottom of the tower as suggested by industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana. The tower was modeled in Aspen, with components of succinic acid, water, and ethanol. Biomass and Corn Steep Liquor were added separately due to their unknown composition, but known properties; both absolutely will not vaporize at the tower temperatures. The top of the tower has a pressure of 18 psia and operates at 81.95 C while the bottom operates at 25 psia and 108.89 C. In order to achieve the desired separation, 32 theoretical stages are required. At a stage efficiency of 0.40 as suggested by Bruce Vrana, there are a total of 79 stages plus the re-boiler and partial condenser. Aspen calculated a diameter of 12 ft for the column and with 2 ft spacing between the stages, the column is 172 ft tall. The trays in use are baffle trays, as suggested by Bruce Vrana, for distillation columns with small solids content. The column is constructed of 304 stainless steel, as some salts and succinic acid remain in solution. Calculations on page 215. 91
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Absorber Column: AB-1 Base Purchase Cost: $117,100 The absorber column receives the effluent vapors from the seed and main fermentation plant sections, which enter at the bottom stage of the tower at a mass flow rate of 19,525 kg/hr. Process water is supplied to the top stage at a flow rate of 27,022 L/hr to remove the ethanol and water from the vapor phase. All of the ethanol is removed from the vapor phase and sent to the distillation tower in the absorber exit stream S-S-104. A hydrogen-rich gas stream leaves the absorber column from the top stage, and is sent to the furnace for subsequent burning to fuel the distillation tower D-1 reboiler. The absorber tower has no energy requirement. The tower has 7 stages calculated by Aspen. Assuming a tray efficiency of 0.40, 18 trays are used. The diameter calculated by Aspen is 5.5 ft. The height of the tower is 50 ft, and it uses sieve trays. The tower is made of 304 stainless steel. The pressure at the top of the tower is 16 psia and the pressure at the bottom of the tower is 20 psia. Calculations on page 215.
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Miscellaneous:
Reflux Accumulator: RA-1 Base Purchase Cost: $47,000 The reflux accumulator collects the liquid and vapor that have exited the distillation tower D-1 top stage condenser. The liquid collected is returned to the column in stream S-S-128 at a flow rate of 57,526 L/hr through pump P-S-106, and the hot vapor at 92% ethanol by mass (8% water) is sent to the molecular sieves for subsequent dehydration at a mass flow rate of 19,595 kg/hr. The volume of the reflux accumulator is 605 ft3. The diameter is 11.6 ft and the height is 5.8 ft, for an aspect ratio (L/D) of . The residence time is 5 minutes. Calculations on page 238. FN-1 (Furnace) Base Purchase Cost: $1,717,600 Re-boiling the bottoms of the distillation column is one of the largest energy consumptions of our process. In order to cut the cost of heating this stream, we designed a furnace to use the hydrogen being produced in the fermenters. This constitutes a heat duty of 76.9MMBTU/hr. The feed from the fermenters carries 392.2 kmol/hr of hydrogen. To reduce the burning temperature to 1100F (the limit of the furnace) air is mixed in to this stream at a rate of 4687.4 kmol/hr. The temperature of the flue gas exiting is 121C to maintain a 10C temperature difference. The furnace is a fire heater made of 304 stainless steel. Calculations on page 224. Rotary Drum Vacuum Filter: RDF-1 Base Purchase Cost: $184,400
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial The rotary drum vacuum filter removes 90% of the deactivated biomass and corn steep liquor solids after the fermentation broth has been sterilized. The cake leaving the filter is 70% solids by mass, with a flow rate of 977 kg/hr. This cake is then sent to a landfill, as suggested by the problem statement. The remaining solution is then pumped to the distillation tower D-1 through pump P-S-101 at a flow rate of 174,995 L/hr. The filter uses a 2-4 inch pre-coating of diatomaceous earth as a filtration aid. The filter area is 113 ft2 and the energy consumption is on average 11.8 HP. Calculations on page 239. Molecular Sieve : MS-1 Base Purchase Cost: $ 2,746,200 The molecular sieves system serves to separate the last 8% by weight of water from the ethanol vapor stream leaving the distillation tower. The system does this by absorbing the water into a resin. In order to purge this water, periodically 20% of the pure ethanol stream must be recirculated back to the molecular sieves to pull the water out of the resin. This regeneration results in an exit stream of 37% by weight water, the remainder ethanol, that must be fed back to the distillation tower (stream S-S-123). The pricing is based on flow rate of 99.5 % pure ethanol exiting the system, which is 18,036 kg/hr (39,800 lb/hr). The pricing and method of modeling were given to us by industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana in the problem statement. The ethanol leaving the molecular sieves is at 78.4C because ethanol is a liquid at this temperature at atmospheric pressure. Steam, electricity, and cooling water are used by the process, as described in the problem statement. Calculations on page 232. Electro-Dialysis : ED-1 Base Purchase Cost : $ 2,700,000. Electro-dialysis is a system by which charged particles are transferred from low to high concentration by an applied electric field. Specific information pertaining to the design such as voltage 94
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial necessary and transfer area were not available. Pricing was calculated by a general correlation from Perrys Chemical Engineering Handbook. For the modeling, an assumption of zero heat transfer with the mass transfer was used. This assumption will of course not be true, but it is used as a starting point. The effect of transferred heat is twofold, first it would decrease the temperature of the feed to HX-3. However, we anticipate there to be plenty of heat to preheat the distillation stream even with significant heat transfer. Additionally, an increase in the temperature of S-S-118 will increase the solubility of succinic acid. Depending how significant this effect is, chilled water may be needed to cool the crystallizer. In an article (Meynial-Salles et al.) on succinic acid separation by electro-dialysis, concentrations were increased from 20 g/L to 80 g/L by electro-dialysis. Because electro-dialysis is driven by electric potential, it is expected to be possible to achieve 80 g/L concentrations of succinic acid. However, as a conservative estimate, a much lower number of 10.4 g/L correlating to 4 fold concentration, similar to that in the report was used. From both Perrys and Meynial-Salles et al., electro-dialysis is used to completely remove ionic components, so no succinic acid is modeled as leaving in stream S-S-135. Accordingly, this hot stream can be sent to the ocean after being cooled in HX-3. Stream S-S-118, a concentrated stream of succinic acid in water, is sent to the crystallizer. Calculations on page 218. Crystallizer : C-1 Base Purchase Cost: $ 154,500 The crystallizer allows for the precipitation of the succinic acid out of the super-saturated solution down to the succinic acid solubility limit of 3 g/L, while recycling the succinic acid solution back to the electro dialysis as the feed for the concentrated stream so as to reduce loss of this valuable specialty chemical. As a very small quantity of corn steep liquor will also recirculate (primarily water, however), a water purge is performed in the amount of 10% by volume, exiting with the crystals. This is expected to be higher than necessary, however this purge stream was designed conservatively so as to 95
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial predict the loss of the greatest amount of product. Process water of the volume of water purged is added in the feed to the concentrated stream of the electro-dialysis to make up for this. In the case that heat transfer is found to be significant in the electro dialysis, the crystallizer may need to be cooled. The purge stream contains a small quantity of organics, so it is sent for waste water treatment. Calculations on page 214. Dryer: DR-1 Base Purchase Cost: $ 22,200 The dryer takes the crystal product from C-1 and removes the water necessarily present. The amount of water is unknown, however we assumed no more than 25% by weight of the crystals could be water. This corresponds to 4.5 square feet of drying area. Because of the low cost and the highly unknown nature of this process, we have assumed a worst case scenario drying area of 45 square feet. Utility costs will depend on the amount of water that sticks to the crystals, however this calculates to 90 cents per hour at 25 mass percent water and therefore is nearly inconsequential. We have left this out and count the change in pricing as part of the sensitivity analysis. Calculations on page 217. Screw Conveyor: CB-1 Base Purchase Cost: $13,000 The Screw conveyor moves the solid succinic acid crystals in stream S-S-121 ( 459 kg/hr) to the succinic acid holding tank, T-110. The conveyor is made of 304 stainless steel. The conveyor is 24 feet long with a motor and power requirement of less than 1 HP. Calculations on page 240.
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Unit Specification Sheets

Section VIII
Feed Preparation Section..... 98 Plant Seed Fermentation Section...... 113 Main Fermentation Section..... 126 Separation Section........ 137
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Feed Preparation Section

Storage Tanks:
Holding Tank
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Holding Tank T-101 1
Function Operation Materials Handled:
To hold 3 days worth of Crude Glycerol Continuous
Stream out- S-FP-101 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
Wastes (Salts, MONG)
43,370.1 37.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 36,855.87 0.00 0.00 3,044.62 3,469.61 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $564,600.00 3,165,300.00 0.80 75.20 25.1 Floating Roof 304 stainless steel
Design Data:
Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments:
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Holding Tank
To hold 3 days worth of Corn Steep Liquor Continuous
Stream out- S-FP-106 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
927.4 37.0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $49,600.00 83,500.00 0.80 22.40 7.58 Cone Roof 304 stainless steel
Design Data:
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Holding Tank
To hold 3 days worth of Brine before removal Continuous
Stream in-S-FP-103 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
6,567.1 37.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4,832.32 1,734.80 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $65,700.00 145,000.00 0.80 26.90 8.99 Cone Roof 304 stainless steel
Design Data:
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Mixing Tank
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Mixing Tank T-105 1
To combine the purified glycerol, water and CSL before sterilization in HX-2 Continuous
Flow In S-FP-104 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr)

Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG)
Flow In S-FP-105 39,900.5

25.00
Flow In S-FP-106 151,104.8

25.00
Flow Out S-FP-107 927.4 191,932.7

25.00 25.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 3,044.6 0.0 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Residence Time (min) Model Material of Construction: $42,500.00
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 151,104.8 0.0 61,800 0.50 20 6.75 10 Cone Roof 304 stainless steel
0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0
Design Data:
101
Agitator
Identification Item: Used In No. Req'd: Agitator Storage Tank 105 1
Function Operation Design Data:
Mixing freshwater, crude glycerol, and cornsteep liquor Continuous Electricity requirements (hp): Material of Construction: $29,900.00 Electricity 32.600 304 Stainless Steel
102
Holding Tank
Function Operation Materials Handled: Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) /(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
To hold sterilized feed that is required for the fermentation stages Continuous/Batch
Stream in-S-FP-112 (kg/hr) Stream out(kg/batch) 43,370.1 37.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 36,855.87 0.00 0.00 3,044.62 3,469.61 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $338,000.00 1,157,500.00 0.80 53.80 17.9 Floating Roof 304 stainless steel
43,370.1 37.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 3,044.6 3,469.6
Design Data:
103
Heat Exchangers:
Heat Exchanger
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Heat Exchanger HX-1 1
To preheat the feed S-FP-114 before sterilization and cool the hot sterilized feed(S-FP-109) to the fermentation temperature Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream out Stream in Stream out S-FP-112 S-FP-114 S-FP-108 191,932.7 191,932.7 191,932.7 191,932.7 121.0 37.0 25.0 111.0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0
Stream In S-FP-109 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) Design Data:
Heat Duty(BTU) 2 Overall Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft F) Heat Transfer Area (ft2) Type Materials of Construction Shell: 304 Stainless steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $132,300.00
59,665,811.0 250.0 12,042.0 Floating Head Shell/Tube Tube: 304 Stainless steel
On start up, duty is provided by 50 psig steam 2470 kg of steam is required.
104
Heat Exchanger
To preheat the feed S-FP-114 at 121C to ensure sterilization Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream out Stream in Stream out S-FP-111 S-FP-08 S-FP-109 4,044.9 4,044.9 191,932.7 191,932.7 186.1 180.0 111.0 121.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4044.94 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4044.94 0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 927.4 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 154,149.4 0.0
Stream In S-FP-110 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) Design Data:
Heat Duty(BTU) Overall Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft2F) 2 Heat Transfer Area (ft ) Type Materials of Construction Shell: carbon steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $22,100.00 steam at 150 psig
7,738,512.0 200.0 321.0 Floating Head Shell/ Tube Tube: 304 Stainless steel
105
Pumps:
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-FP-01 1
To bring crude glycerol form storage tank to the glycerol purification system
Continuous
Feed: S-FP-101 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes Design Data: 43,370.1 25.0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 36855.871 0.000 0.000 3044.615 3469.608 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $4,500.00 Electricity
Exit: S-FP-101 43,370.1 25.0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 36855.871 0.000 0.000 3044.615 3469.608 1.233 7.663 93.637 6.962 304 stainless steel
106
Pump
To bring fresh water to mix with cornsteep liquor Continuous
107
Pump
To bring cornsteep liquor to mix with fresh water Continuous
Feed: S-FP-106 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes Design Data: 927.4 25.0 0.000 0.000 927.419 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $4,100.00 Electricity
Exit: S-FP-106 927.4 25.0 0.000 0.000 927.419 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.000 0.111 64.430 0.109 304 stainless steel
108
Pump
To bring purified glycerol to mix with cornsteep liquor and fresh water Continuous
109
Pump
To bring waste brine from glycerol purification system to storage Continuous
110
Pump
To bring glycerol/water/cornsteep liquor mixture through heat exchangers to holding tank
Continuous
111
Miscellaneous: Glycerol Purification System

Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Glycerol Purification System R-101 1
To purify the crude glycerol feed so that it only contains water and glycerol Continuous
Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Wastes (Salts, MONG) Design Data:
Stream In Stream in Stream out Stream out Stream out S-FP-101 S-FP-102 S-FP-103 S-FP-104 S-FP-113 43,370.1 4,832.3 6,567.1 39,900.5 1,734.8 25.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 3,044.6 3,469.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4,832.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4,832.3 1,734.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 36,855.9 0.0 0.0 3,044.6 0.0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,734.80
Processes :
Reverse Osmosis Electro-pressure membrane technology Electro-dialysis
Cost,CBM Utilities: Comments:
$430,800.00
112
Seed Fermentation Section (Plant and Lab):

Fermenters:
Seed Fermenter
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Fermenter Seed 4A/4B 2
Function Operation Materials Handled: Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
To grow up Ecoli cells for 60 hours for innoculation in seed fermenter, Seed Ferm 5A or 5B Batch Stream In S-105 7.6 37.00 0.01 0.00 0.04 0.76 0.00 0.00 0.02 6.79 Stream in S-101 Stream out Stream out S-109 S-106 160.9 16.4 152.1 37.00 37.00 37.00 0.00 0.00 0.78 0.00 30.90 0.00 0.00 129.25 0.00 14.32 0.00 0.74 0.00 0.66 0.00 0.71 0.26 0.00 0.82 15.17 0.00 0.00 0.42 135.45
Design Data:
Volume(L): Working Vol initial (L) : Working Vol at end(L) : Height (ft) Diameter (ft) Material of Construction: Insignificant
200 163.9 (82%) 157.7 (79%) 3.3 1.65 304 Stainless Steel
Cost: Utilities: Comments:
113
Seed Fermenter
Function Operation Materials Handled: Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
To grow up Ecoli cells for 60 hours for innoculation in seed fermenter, Seed Ferm 6A or 6B Batch Stream In S-106 152.1 37.00 0.26 0.00 0.82 15.17 0.00 0.00 0.42 135.45 Stream in S-102 Stream out Stream out S-110 S-107 3,230.4 329.9 3,052.7 37.00 37.00 37.00 0.00 0.00 15.61 0.00 620.32 0.00 0.00 2594.50 0.00 287.55 0.00 14.91 0.00 13.31 0.00 14.13 5.25 0.00 16.43 304.36 0.00 0.00 8.37 2718.26
Design Data:
Volume(L): Working Vol initial (L) : Working Vol at end(L) : Height (ft) Diameter (ft) Material of Construction: $30,700.00
4,500 3274.7 (73%) 3164.9 (70%) 9.32 4.6 304 Stainless Steel
Cost, Cpb: Utilities: Comments:
114
Seed Fermenter
To grow up Ecoli cells for 60 hours for innoculation in seed fermenter, Seed Ferm 7A or 7B Batch Stream In S-107 3,052.7 37.00 5.25 0.00 16.43 304.36 0.00 0.00 8.37 2718.26 Stream in S-103 Stream out Stream out S-111 S-108 64,593.2 6,598.1 61,047.8 37.00 37.00 37.00 0.00 5749.58 0.00 298.82 0.00 266.09 0.00 283.60 104.89 0.00 328.54 6086.17 0.00 0.00 167.42 54360.78
0.00 0.00 312.11 0.00 12403.51 0.00 0.00 51877.60
Design Data:
8,500 65,490 (77%) 63,293 (75%) 24.8 12.4 304 Stainless Steel
115
Agitator
Identification Item: Used In No. Req'd: Agitator Seed Fermenters 6 A/B 2
Mixing contents of seed fermenters 6 A and B Continuous Electricity requirements (hp): Material of Construction: $6,500.00 Electricity 2.200 304 Stainless Steel
116
Seed Fermenter
To grow up Ecoli cells for 60 hours for innoculation in main fermenters, Ferm 1-12 Batch Stream In S-108 Stream in Stream out Stream out S-104 S-112 S-114 61,047.8 423,410.3 43,596.3 440,861.8 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 104.89 0.00 328.54 6086.17 0.00 0.00 167.42 54360.78 0.00 0.00 2045.92 0.00 81305.36 0.00 0.00 340058.99 0.00 37688.68 0.00 2150.22 0.00 1744.23 0.00 2013.16 758.06 0.00 2374.46 43794.61 0.00 0.00 1209.97 392724.70
Design Data:
650,000 471,835(73%) 457,030 (70%) 48.9 24.4 304 Stainless Steel
117
Agitator
Identification Item: Used In No. Req'd: Agitator Seed Fermenters 7 A/B 2
Mixing contents of seed fermenters 7 A and B Batch Electricity requirements (hp): Material of Construction: $20,800.00 Electricity 17.171 304 Stainless Steel
118
Pumps:
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-101 1
To move sterilized feed from tank T-106 to either Seed Ferm 4A or 4B Batch
Feed: S-101 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 2,682.08 37 0.00 0.00 12.96 0.00 515.03 0.00 0.00 2,154.09 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $3,700.00 Electricity
Exit: S-101 2,682.08 37 0.00 0.00 12.96 0.00 515.03 0.00 0.00 2,154.09 1.03 0.89 59.21 0.83 304 stainless steel
Cost: Utilities: Comments:
119
Pump
Feed: S-102 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 3,230.4 37.0 0.0 0.0 15.6 0.0 620.3 0.0 0.0 2,594.5 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $4,400.00 Electricity
Exit: S-102 3,230.4 37.0 0.0 0.0 15.6 0.0 620.3 0.0 0.0 2,594.5 1.04 6.41 64.97 5.59 304 stainless steel
120
Pump
Feed: S-103 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 64,593.2 37.0 0.0 0.0 312.1 0.0 12,403.5 0.0 0.0 51,877.6 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $4,900.00 Electricity
Exit: S-103 64,593.2 37.0 0.0 0.0 312.1 0.0 12,403.5 0.0 0.0 51,877.6 1.04 8.84 80.46 8.03 304 stainless steel
121
Pump
Feed: S-104 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 423,410.3 37.0 0.0 0.0 2,045.9 0.0 81,305.4 0.0 0.0 340,059.0 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $6,400.00 Electricity
Exit: S-104 423,410.3 37.0 0.0 0.0 2,045.9 0.0 81,305.4 0.0 0.0 340,059.0 1.04 16.7 104.53 15.10 304 stainless steel
122
Pump
To move products form seed fermenter 4A or 4B to seed fermenter 5A or 5B
Batch
Feed: S-106 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 152.12 37.0 10.667 0.000 8.186 329.217 0.000 0.000 3.533 7518.970 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $3,600.00 Electricity
Exit: S-106 152.1 37.0 10.667 0.000 8.186 329.217 0.000 0.000 3.533 7518.970 0.965 0.975 69.114 0.909 304 stainless steel
123
Pump
Batch
Feed: S-107 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 3,052.7 37.0 5.246 0.000 16.428 304.361 0.000 0.000 8.371 2718.259 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $4,700.00 Electricity
Exit: S-107 3,052.7 37.0 5.246 0.000 16.428 304.361 0.000 0.000 8.371 2718.259 0.963 7.600 84.677 6.905 304 stainless steel
124
Pump
Batch
Feed: S-108 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 61,047.8 37.0 104.891 0.000 328.543 6086.169 0.000 0.000 167.417 54360.776 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $5,300.00
Exit: S-108 61,047.8 37.0 104.891 0.000 328.543 6086.169 0.000 0.000 167.417 54360.776 0.965 11.262 108.681 10.204 304 stainless steel
125
Main Fermentation Section:

Fermenters:
Main Fermenter
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Fermenter Ferm 1-Ferm 12 12
To produce ethanol through fermentation of glycerol in 60 hours . Batch Stream In Stream in Stream out Stream out Sterilized Feed Prod of Seed Ferm Broth Vapor 1,556,144.8 73,447.6 1,471,321.3 158,271.2 37.00 37.00 37.00 37.00 0.00 0.00 7519.29 0.00 298818.71 0.00 0.00 1249806.82 126.29 0.00 395.59 7296.18 0.00 0.00 201.58 65427.93 2526.88 0.00 7914.88 146590.06 0.00 0.00 4033.23 1310256.21 0.00 138515.88 0.00 7197.25 0.00 6410.52 0.00 6147.61
Design Data:
341,500 1,577,642 (79%) 1,525,404 (76%) 71.1 35 304 Stainless Steel
126
Agitator
Identification Item: Used In No. Req'd: Denaturing ethanol with gasoline Continuous Electricity requirements (hp): Material of Construction: $44,200.00 Electricity 20.000 304 Stainless Steel Agitator Fermenters 1-12 12
127
Storage Tanks:
Holding Tank
To hold the product after the Main fermentation Process Batch
Flow In Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 1,471,321.3 37.0 2,526.88 0.00 7,914.88 146,590.06 0.00 0.00 4,033.23 1,310,256.21 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $582,900.00 3,370,526.00 0.80 76.90 25.6 Floating Roof 304 stainless steel
128
Agitator
Identification Item: Used In No. Req'd: Stir contents of broth storage tank Continuous Electricity requirements (hp): Material of Construction: $44,200.00 Electricity 20.000 304 Stainless Steel Agitator Storage Tank 107 1
129
Heat Exchangers:
Heat Exchanger
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Heat Exchanger HX-FERM 12
To cool the contents of each 2,000,000 L fermentation tanks Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream out Stream in Stream out S-FP-144 S-141 S-142 22,063.0 22,063.0 24,522.0 24,523.0 31.44 36.60 42.72 37.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 22063.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 22063.00 42.11 0.00 131.91 2443.17 0.00 0.00 67.22 21837.60 42.11 1.00 131.91 2443.17 0.00 0.00 67.22 21837.60
Stream In S-143 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water
Design Data: Heat Duty(BTU) Overall Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft F) Heat Transfer Area (ft ) Type Materials of Construction Shell: carbon steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments:
2 2
518,300.0 250.0 197.6 Double Pipe Tube: 304 Stainless steel
$4,200.00 A mixture of 95% cooling water is used in the shell 5% chilled water
130
Pumps:
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-FA 2
To bring sterilized feed to main fermentation tanks Batch
Feed: S-115 - S-120 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 1,556,144.8 37.0 0.000 0.000 7519.292 0.000 298818.709 0.000 0.000 1249806.816 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $19,400.00 Electricity
Exit: S-115 - S-120 1,556,144.8 37.0 0.000 0.000 7519.292 0.000 298818.709 0.000 0.000 1249806.816 1.04 220400.00 55.56 126.75 50.13 304 stainless steel
131
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-FB 2
To bring seed train products to main fermentation tanks Batch
Feed: S-121 - S-126 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 73,447.6 37.0 126.293 0.000 395.585 7296.182 0.000 0.000 201.580 65427.934 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $3,600.00 Electricity
Exit: S-121 - S-126 73,447.6 37.0 126.293 0.000 395.585 7296.182 0.000 0.000 201.580 65427.934 0.96 205200.00 1.86 130.89 1.72 304 stainless steel
132
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-FC 2
To bring main fermentation tank products to broth storage tank Batch
Feed: S-132 - S-137 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 1,471,321.3 37.0 2526.879 0.000 7914.877 146590.059 0.000 0.000 4033.232 1310256.215 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $15,700.00 Electricity
Exit: S-132 - S-137 1,471,321.3 37.0 2526.879 0.000 7914.877 146590.059 0.000 0.000 4033.232 1310256.215 0.96 73900.00 35.35 85.41 31.89 304 stainless steel
133
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-FD 1
To bring broth from broth storage tank to separations section Continuous
Feed: S-140 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 172,397.2 37.0 296.079 0.000 927.400 17176.209 0.000 0.000 472.581 153524.971 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $9,000.00 Electricity
Exit: S-140 172,397.2 37.0 296.079 0.000 927.400 17176.209 0.000 0.000 472.581 153524.971 0.96 205200.00 30.52 119.59 27.55 304 stainless steel
134
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-FE 12
To bring main fermenter contents through heat exchanger Continuous
Feed: S-141 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 24522.02 37.0 42.115 0.000 131.915 2443.168 0.000 0.000 67.221 21837.604 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $6,600.00 Electricity
Exit: S-141 24,522.0 37.0 42.115 0.000 131.915 2443.168 0.000 0.000 67.221 21837.604 0.96 205200.00 2.97 59.80 32.66 304 stainless steel
135
Blower:
Blower
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Blower B-101 1
Bring waste gases from fermenters to furnace Continuous
Feed: S-127 - S-131; S-138 Exit: S-139 Quantity(kg/[batch or hr]) 158,271.2 Temperature(C) 37.0 Pressure (psi) 14.8 Composition(kg/[batch or hr]) Biomass 0.000 Carbon Dioxide 138515.876 Corn Steep Liquor 0.000 Ethanol 7197.246 Glycerol 0.000 Hydrogen 6410.517 Succinic Acid 0.000 Water 6147.606 Design Data: Pressure Rise (psi): Brake Power (hp): Motor Power (hp): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: 5.000 277.160 300.652 310.509 Aluminum
19,524.7 37.0 19.8 0.000 17084.349 0.000 888.991 0.000 790.664 0.000 760.731
$70,800.00 Electricity
136
Separation Section:
Storage Tanks:
Mixing Tank
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Mixing Tank T-108 1
To mix the ethanol with gasoline to get the denatured ethanol product Continuous
Flow In S-S-124 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid 18,035.8 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 18,035.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Residence Time (min) Model Material of Construction: $26,800.00
Flow In S-S-125 360.7 25.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 360.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8,020 0.50 10 3.4 10 Floating Roof 304 stainless steel
Flow Out S-S-126 18,396.5 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 18,035.8 360.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Design Data:
137
Agitator
Identification Item: Used In No. Req'd: Denature ethanol with gasoline Continuous Electricity requirements (hp): Material of Construction: $9,100.00 Electricity 4.000 304 Stainless Steel Agitator Storage Tank 108 1
138
Holding Tank
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: To hold 3 days worth of Gasoline Continuous Holding Tank T-109 1
Stream out- S-S-125 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Gasoline Design Data: Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $101,000.00 360.7 37.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 360.72 108,300.00 0.80 24.59 8.20 Cone Roof 304 stainless steel
139
Holding Tank
To hold 3 days of succinic acid before shipment Continuous
Stream in- S-S-121 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $27,600.00 458.9 37.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 458.9 0 26,500.00 0.80 8.41 16.82 Cone Roof 304 stainless steel
140
Holding Tank
To hold 3 days worth of Denatured Ethanol Product Continuous
Flow In Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid 18,396.55 37.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 18,035.83 360.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Design Data:
Volume (L) Working Volume Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Model Material of Construction: $453,300.00
2,057,300 0.80 510 170 Floating Roof 304 stainless steel
141
Heat Exchangers:
Heat Exchanger
To deactivate E. coli in broth from fermentation prior to filtration Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream out Stream in Stream out S-S-138 S-S-109 S-S-110 180,559.1 180,559.1 172,397.2 172,397.2 108.9 43.3 37.0 92.2 21.0 21.0 14.8 14.8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 180559.1207 296.1 0.0 927.4 17,176.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.6 153,525.0 296.1 0.0 927.4 17,176.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.6 153,525.0
Stream In S-S-135 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 180559.1207
Heat Duty(BTU)
2
48,041,600.0
2
Overall Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft F) 250.0 Heat Transfer Area (ft ) Type Materials of Construction Shell: carbon steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $113,900.00 9,996.6 Floating Head Shell/Tube Tube: 304 Stainless steel
142
Heat Exchanger
Partial condenser for Distillation Column Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream out Stream in Stream out S-S-106 S-S-130 S-S-129 1,087,869.8 1,087,869.8 172,397.2 172,397.2 32.2 48.9 82.0 82.0 25.0 20.0 17.0 17.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1087869.823 0.0 0.0 0.0 174,279.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15,394.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 174,279.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15,394.0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1087869.823
Heat Duty(BTU)
2
68,130,000
2
Overall Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft F) 200.0 Heat Transfer Area (ft ) Type Materials of Construction Shell: carbon steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $65,900.00 1087870 l/hr cooling water 4,635.8 Floating Head Shell/Tube Tube: 304 Stainless steel
143
Heat Exchanger
Cooling ethanol product Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream out Stream in Stream out S-S-137 S-S-122 S-S-124 23,766.1 23,766.1 18,035.8 18,035.8 32.2 48.9 78.4 50.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23766.1086 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23766.1086 0.0 0.0 0.0 18,035.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 18,035.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Stream In S-S-136 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
Heat Duty(BTU)
2
1,488,800
2
Overall Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft F) 150.0 Heat Transfer Area (ft ) Type Materials of Construction Shell: carbon steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $21,200.00 23766.11 l/hr cooling water 238.2 Floating Head Shell/Tube Tube: 304 Stainless steel
144
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Heat Exchanger

Supplement to furnace for reboiling bottoms of distillation column Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream In Stream out Stream in Stream out 1 (l) Stream out 2 (v) S-S-107 S-S-108 S-S-114 S-S-116 S-S-133 16,775.3 16,775.3 233,698.1 181,540.8 37,964.9 147.7 147.7 108.9 108.9 108.9 64.7 64.7 21.5 21.5 21.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16775.34406 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16775.34406 0.0 0.0 509.3 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 216,965.4 0.0 0.0 509.3 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 179,000.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 37,964.9
Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
Heat Duty(BTU) Heat Coefficient (BTU/hr-ft2F) Heat Transfer Area (ft ) Type Materials of Construction Shell: carbon steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $60,300.00 16775 kg/hr 50 psig steam
2
33,780,000 200.0 2,412.0 Kettle Vaporizer Reboiler Tube: 304 Stainless steel
145
Pumps:
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Pump P-S-101 1
To bring solution from rotary drum filter to distillation column Continuous
Feed: S-S-112 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 171,420.7 92.2 29.608 0.000 509.278 17146.882 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 472.356 153262.613 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $13,100.00 Electricity
Exit: S-S-112 171,420.7 92.2 29.608 0.000 509.278 17146.882 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 472.356 153262.613 0.98 474600.00 56.16 220.84 50.67 304 stainless steel
146
Pump
To bring bottoms product from furnace to electrodialysis Continuous
147
Pump
To bring liquid from crystallizer to electrodialysis Continuous
Feed: S-S-119 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 45,331.2 40.0 0.000 0.000 4583.503 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 121.877 40625.802 Density of Fluid (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $4,700.00
148
Pump
To bring ethanol from absorber to distillation column Continuous
149
Pump
To bring reflux from distillate back to column Continuous
150
Pump
To bring bottoms product to furnace Continuous
151
Pump
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: To bring clean water to absorber Continuous Pump P-S-108 1
152
Blowers:
Blower
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Blower B-102 1
Bring waste gases from fermenters to furnace Continuous
Feed: S-S-113 Quantity(kg/[batch or hr]) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/[batch or hr]) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
Exit: S-S-113 135,234.5 37.0 14.7 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 31498.339 103736.141 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 4.000 1500.000 1602.646 1195.093 Aluminum 135,234.5 37.0 18.7 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 31498.339 103736.141 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Pressure Rise (psi): Brake Power (hp): Motor Power (hp): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction:
153
Columns:
Distillation Column
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Distillation Column D-1 1
Separate ethanol to it's azeotrope with water from water and succinic acid Continuous Feeds Products Stream In 2 Stream In 3 Distillate Bottoms S-S-123 S-S-112 S-S-115 S-S-116 28,185.6 6,336.0 171,420.7 24,372.1 181,540.8 41.2 82.0 37.0 82.0 108.9 20.0 14.7 14.7 14.7 21.5 0 0 0 889.13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27296.51 0.0 0.0 0.0 4,508.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1,827.3 29.6 0.0 509.3 17,146.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 153,262.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 22,544.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1,827.3 0.0 0.0 509.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 180,559.1
Stream In 1 S-S-104 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
Stages Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Shell Thickness (in) Tray Type Materials of Construction
80.0 12 172.0 0.5 Baffle tray 304 Stainless steel
$798,000.00 Biomass is periodically removed from a hopper in the bottom of the tower.
154
Absorber Column
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Absorber Column AB-1 1
To capture the ethanol that escapes the fermenters as vapor Continuous Vapor Liquid Stream out Stream in Stream out S-S-103 S-S-101 S-S-104 19,524.8 18,362.0 27,022.5 28,185.6 25.0 29.0 37.0 41.2 16.0 16.0 14.8 20.0 0 17084.2419 0 889.1317 0 0 0 0 0 790.65504 0 760.77345 Stages Diameter (ft) Height (ft) Shell thickness (in) Type Materials of Construction 0 17084.24239 0 0.224366224 0 0 0 0 0 790.6550493 0 486.9174262 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 27,022.5 18 5.50 50.00 0.31 Bubble Cap Trays 304 Stainless steel 0.0 0.0 0.0 889.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 27,296.5
$117,100.00
155
Miscellaneous:
Reflux Accumulator
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Reflux Accumulator RA-1 1
Separates the Distillate vapor product from the liquid reflux Continuous
Feed S-S-129 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
Recycle Product S-S-128 S-S-115 189,673.2 165,301.2 24,372.0 82.0 82.0 82.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 0 0 0 174279.2349 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15393.99797 0 0 0 151734.4484 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13566.73652 11.6 6 606.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 22,544.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1,827.3
Diameter (ft) Length (ft) Volume (cuft)
Materials of Construction
304 Stainless Steel
$47,000.00
156
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Furnace

Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Furnace FN-1 1
Burn hydrogen waste gas and reboil bottoms of distillation column Continuous Shell Side Tube Side Stream In 2 Stream out Stream in Stream out S-S-103 S-S-117 S-S-132 S-S-114 135,234.5 18,362.0 153,597.3 217,948.5 217,948.5 37.0 29.0 121.0 108.9 108.9 14.7 16.0 14.7 21.5 21.5 0.0 17,084.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 790.7 0.0 486.9 0.0 17,084.7 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 25,223.1 103,736.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 7,552.4 0.0 0.0 509.3 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 216,965.4 0.0 0.0 509.3 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 216,965.4
Stream In 1 S-S-113 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
0 0 0 0 0 0 31498.33877 103736.1414 0 0 0 0
Heat Duty(BTU) Reactions Type Materials of Construction Shell: 304 Stainless steel Cost,CPB Utilities: Comments: $1,717,600.00
76,910,000.0 2H2 + O2 2H2O 2C2H6 + 7O2 4CO2 + 6H2O Fired Heater Tube: 304 Stainless steel
157
Rotary Drum Filter

Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Rotary Drum Filter RDF-1 1
Separates Biomass from Distillation Column Feed Continuous Solutions Waste Product Biomass S-S-112 S-S-111 172,397.2 171,420.7 977.2 92.2 92.2 92.2 14.7 14.7 14.7 296.0787557 0 927.3997293 17176.20898 0 0 0 0 0 0 472.5806935 153524.9706 29.60787557 0 509.2781511 17146.8818 0 0 0 0 0 0 472.356 153262.6125 266.5 0.0 418.1 29.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 262.4
316 Stainless Steel
158
Molecular Sieve
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Molecular Sieve MS-1 1
Separate Water from azeotropic water ethanol mixture Continuous Shell Side Feed S-S-115 Tube Side Ethanol Recirculation S-S-122 S-S-123 24,372.0 18,035.8 6,336.0 82.0 78.4 82.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 0 0 0 18035.82922 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4,508.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1,827.3
0 0 0 22544.78653 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1827.26145
Type Materials of Construction
Molecular Sieve Unknown
Cost,CPB Utilities:
Comments:
$2,746,200.00 Electricity 79.52318 kW Low P Steam 1590.4636 lb/hr Cooling Water 119284.77 gal/hr Black box design provided by Bruce Vrana
159
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Electro Dialysis

Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Electro Dialysis ED-1 1
Transfer Succinic acid from the bottoms product to succinic acid recovery system Continuous Concentrating Side Purifying Side Fresh Water Feed Recirc Feed Conc. Stream From Tower Clean Out S-S-127 S-S-119 S-S-118 S-S-116 S-S-135 4,514.0 45,331.2 50,826.8 181,540.8 180,559.1 25.0 25.0 25.0 108.9 108.9 14.7 14.7 14.7 21.5 21.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4513.978016 0.0 0.0 4,583.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 121.9 40,625.8 0.0 0.0 5,092.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 594.2 45,139.8 0.0 0.0 509.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 180,559.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 180,559.1
Type Materials of Construction
Electro Dialysis Unknown
$2,700,000.00 $190,200.00
/year
160
Crystalizer
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Crystalizer C-1 1
Precipitates the supersaturated succinic acid into crystals Continuous Solutions Product Recycle Out Crystals & Purge S-S-119 S-S-120 50,826.8 45,331.2 5,495.6 25.0 25.0 25.0 14.7 14.7 14.7 0 0 4583.50336 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 121.8774064 40625.80215 0.0 0.0 509.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 472.4 4,514.0
Recycle In S-S-118 Quantity(kg/hr) Temperature(C) Pressure (psi) Composition(kg/hr) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Gasoline Methane Oxygen Nitrogen Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data:
0 0 5092.781511 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 594.2334064 45139.78016
316 Stainless Steel
$154,500.00
161
Dryer
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Dryer DR-1 1
Dryes the crystals from C-1 Batch Solutions Waste S-S-134 5,495.6 25.0 14.7 0 0 509.2781511 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 472.356 4513.978016 Product Succinic Acid S-S-121 5,036.8 458.8 25.0 100.0 14.7 14.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 458.8 0.0
0 0 509.2781511 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13.54193405 4513.978016
316 Stainless Steel
$22,200.00
162
Screw Conveyor
Identification Item: Item No.: No. Req'd: Screw Conveyor CB-1 1
To cary Succinic acid crystals to storage tank Continuous
Feed: S-S-121 Quantity(kg/batch) Temperature(C) Composition(kg/batch) Biomass Carbon Dioxide Corn Steep Liquor Ethanol Glycerol Hydrogen Succinic Acid Water Design Data: 458.8 100.0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 458.814066 0.000 Density of Crystals (kg/l): Pressure Drop (Pa): Brake Power (hp): Pump Head (ft): Electricity requirements( kW): Material of Construction: $13,000.00 Electricity
Exit: S-S-121 458.8 100.0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 458.814066 0.000 1.600 0.000 1.000 0.000 0.750 304 stainless steel
163
Alternate Units and Considerations

Section IX
164
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Alternate Process Units and Considerations Succinic Acid Separation: Numerous methods of separation were considered for succinic acid, the most promising of which was ion exchange chromatography. During the initial investigation phase, however, it was noted that the resin exhibited significant loss of functionality over time, as some succinic acid would not desorb during washing. The loss of useful resin would have cost $14MM per year minimum, as a small quantity of resin would have to be continually replenished. Electrodialysis was found to be a cost effective alternative, even before pricing equipment. Absorber Column vs. Ethanol Burning: At 37 C, the vapor pressure of ethanol is high enough for a significant portion to escape as vapor with the hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases emitted during fermentation. Since the hydrogenrich stream is sent to the furnace in order to recover the heat of combustion for use in the reboiler, burning the vaporized ethanol rather than absorbing it was considered. Steam, however, has a cost of 3.3 cents per 10,000 BTU, while burning ethanol would result in a 33 cent loss per 10,000 BTU. It was therefore financially advantageous to capture the vaporized ethanol and recover it in an absorption column. Natural Gas vs. Steam for Reboiler Heat Duty: Natural gas and steam were the two main choices for supplying the remainder of the heat duty for the reboiler not supplied by the hydrogen combustion. The cost of energy from natural gas was $3.69 per MMBTU while steam cost $3.30 per MMBTU. Furthermore, the installation cost of a steampowered heat exchanger is significantly lower than the installation cost of another furnace, or the redesigning of the furnace for higher heat duty. Ultimately steam heat was more cost effective.
165
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Glycerol Feed Purchase: Glycerol feedstock from the biodiesel industry is available in two main forms: crude and partially refined. Although the partially refined glycerol feed would have eliminated the need for the glycerol purification system, suppliers could not confirm the availability of the partially refined product for the quantity of glycerol required for the process. Additionally, the partially refined glycerol is typically $0.15/lb more expensive than the crude glycerol (Gallagher et al.), which, given the sensitivity of the process to glycerol, would be prohibitively expensive. The choice was made to use the crude glycerol feedstock, although a purification unit operation is now required. The added benefit of the glycerol purification system from EET Corporation is its ability to process a feedstock with a variety of compositions. The plant flexibility is advantageous, because the least expensive glycerol can be purchased at a given time. Clarifying/Settling Tank vs. Storage Tank with Agitator The broth leaving the fermenters to be stored in T-107 must be continually agitated to prevent the settling of cells in the storage tank prior to transportation to the separation process. As an alternative to agitation, a settling clarifier tank similar to those used in waste water treatment was researched and priced. According to Perrys Chemical Engineering Handbook, clarifiers with dilute concentrations of solids typically have underflow solids weight percents of 8-15%. At this percentage, two streams with low solids mass percentages would need to be sterilized and filtered rather than one (the overflow and the underflow from the clarifier). The clarifier does not work in this case to separate any solids, so it has no benefit, and essentially functions as an agitator.
166
Other Considerations
Section X
167
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Other Considerations Plant Layout The few interconnected steps in the process should be placed near each other. The molecular sieve regeneration stream recirculates into the distillation column, and therefore these units should be placed near one another. The electro-dialysis feeds water into HX-3 and therefore, these units should be placed together. The furnace should be placed far away from the succinic acid separation section as well as the pure ethanol and gasoline streams due to flammability. Storage tanks (T-101, T-103, T-109, T-110, T-111) should be placed outside the plant for easy loading and unloading, preferably next to railroad tracks for easy transport. Health and Safety Considerations The presence of hydrogen in this process posses the largest safety concern. The process has been designed with this in mind, so 304 stainless steel has been used for all components coming into contact with hydrogen to protect against hydrogen embrittlement (Gallagher et al.). Positive pressure is used to decrease the likelihood of oxygen seeping into the system. Special care will be taken with regard to sealing the system in the presence of hydrogen. Special fittings will be designed for this purpose. Several of the process components are flammable. The explosion limits on hydrogen, ethanol, and gasoline are 4-75%, 3.3-19% and 1.4-7.6% respectively. Oxygen sensors will be necessary within hydrogen containing vessels and piping, and sensors will be necessary to ensure that no buildup of hydrogen, ethanol, or gasoline occurs. The fermentation is exothermic, but reactor runaway is not a large concern. Due to the high volume of the reactors, even under adiabatic conditions, there is only a small 5.8C temperature increase over the course of the fermentation cycle. Automatic shut down will be necessary within the
168
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial furnace. Should there be a breakdown of blower B-102, the combustion temperature could skyrocket to higher than 2000F, which would damage the furnace and possibly lead to explosion. There will also be large quantities of succinic acid in some areas of the plant. Succinic acid is a hazardous chemical which can cause skin and eye irritation, as well as breathing difficulties in the case of ingestion. Showers and eyewash stations will be placed frequently around the plant in case of human contact with succinic acid. Basic safety equipment such as eye protection and hard hats will be worn at all times around the plant. The MSDS sheets for all of the components in our process have been included in the appendix of the report. The E. coli to be used in this process is not a genetically modified organism, and poses no health threats to humans as per the design problem statement. As such, it does not fall under governmental regulation. Nonetheless, it is prudent to deactivate the organisms before disposal, and this is completed in HX-3 for the broth stream and in the furnace FN-1 for the vapor stream. Any small spills can be sent to an empty (off-line) seed fermentation train unit for sterilization with caustic solution. Plant Start-Up Considerations The main start-up considerations are heat related, as the heat exchangers HX-1 (in the feed preparation section) and HX-3 (in the separation section) require streams that have already been heated in the process. Steam can be used in both heat exchangers for the start-up period. By the time the separation processing section is reached, after ~100 hours, enough hydrogen will have been generated to fuel the reboiler, which has the largest heat requirement. Process Control The major section of the plant that must be monitored and controlled is the main large-scale fermentation section. The 14.8 psia positive pressure must be maintained in the fermenters at all times. This can be accomplished with a pressure-monitoring system and a valve controlling the release of 169
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial fermentation gases to the piping connected to the blower system. Additionally, the temperature of the fermentation units must be controlled. The temperature must be monitored, and a valve is installed to control the amount of the cooling water/chilled water mixture that is sent to the twelve HX-FERM units to control the amount of heat transferred from the fermentation broth to the cooling water during fermentation. Additionally, level controllers should be installed in the tanks T-106 and T-107, which are the intermediate sterilized feed and fermentation broth holding tanks, functioning as the transition point from continuous to batch processing and vice versa. These tanks have been designed with a working volume of 80%, and the levels should be monitored to prevent any overflows or empty tanks. With the current schedule, these problems should be avoided, but these tanks need to be monitored for the duration of the process to ensure safety and steady-state processing in the continuous sections of the plant.
170
Environmental Considerations
Section XI
171
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Environmental Considerations The main impact on the environment is from the waste carbon dioxide that is released from the fermentation process. The chemical reaction produces approximately 150,000 tons/year of carbon dioxide waste. The disposal of carbon dioxide has become a controversial topic in recent years as the exact environmental impact of a certain amount of carbon dioxide is still unknown. There are three options for dealing with this waste in accordance with the main systems in place and with pending legislation in the different government systems around the world. One option that is popular within industry is carbon offsetting. A carbon offset program attempts to make up for carbon dioxide waste produced, by taking a secondary action that consumes carbon dioxide. In that case, this plant would have to invest in a reforestation plan that would consume, once fully mature, the same amount of CO2 per year that is produced by the plant. The plant will produce 150,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide per year. Approximately 120 fully-mature trees can sequester 5 tons of CO2 per year (Botanical Society of America). The average cost to plant an acre of trees is $500, and in the current climate conditions the one can expect 35% of the planted trees to survive to maturity. Therefore for the reforestation plan, if 200 pine trees are planted per acre, 70 will survive, so to be safe, for every 5 tons of CO2, two acres of trees need to be planted. Therefore, to offset all of the carbon output from the plant, it will take 60,000 acres of pine trees, costing $30 million (SRP.net). Recent research has looked into carbon capture and sequestration technologies as a means of lowering carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon sequestering is an expensive option that can at best eliminate 80% of the carbon dioxide produced (National Mining Association). The best method seems to be with a solid absorbent-magnesium oxide absorber to capture the carbon dioxide and then using a 3 stage compressor to bring it to its supercritical phase so as to be transported (Czarniak et al). Besides the cost of bringing the carbon dioxide into a supercritical phase and pumping into storage, sequestering would also require the extra step of separating the gaseous carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas wastes. 172
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial However, while this process incurs large startup costs, the cost of capturing and sequestering the CO2 is on the order of $31.80 per ton of CO2 (Czarniak et al). Since in 2030, it is likely that some sort of CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology will be required of all industries that produce large amounts of CO2, it may be required that the plant add in this process when it is necessary (McKinsey). With 150,000 tons being produced per year, the annual cost of CO2 capture and sequester is $4,741,300. However, since the process of producing the ethanol uses a feed of glycerol which is produced from biodiesel production, this process can be considered to be carbon neutral. Biofuels are carbon neutral even though the production of them produces carbon dioxide. This is because the carbon in the biofuel comes from a plant source. As such, the carbon dioxide produced can be released to the atmosphere without any carbon offsetting or sequestration technologies. This release may be legal for only a few years depending on United States governmental policy regarding CO2 emissions. Many of the potential laws set the maximum allowable emissions levels at 250 tons per year (Efstathiou Jr.) (See Carbon Dioxide Legislation Appendix E on page 265). Whenever this happens, the CCS technology option will have to be reexamined and, at that point, the cost will be lower since a lot of research is currently focusing in that area.
173
Economic Analysis
Section XII
174
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Economic Analysis
Equipment Cost Estimates

The equipment purchase costs were computed using the specifications and correlations outlined in Product and Process Design Prinicples by Seider, Seader, Lewin, and Widagdo. The base purchase costs included with the unit descriptions, CPB for the Method of Guthrie equation for installation cost, are based on carbon steel construction. However, most of our plant equipment is made of 304 stainless steel . To account for the difference in material, the Guthrie correlation was used to determine the bare module cost of the equipment, where the Guthrie material factors FM for 304 Stainless Steel were obtained from Perrys Chemical Engineering Handbook. Guthrie correlation: CBM= CPB(I/IB)[FBM+ ( FdFPFM-1)], Where: FBM= bare module factor Fd= equipment design factor Fp= pressure factor Fm= material factor The material factors from Perrys Handbook for 304 stainless steel construction were 1.7 for pumps and 2.8 for other equipment. For heat exchangers, the factor was 1.67 if the tubes were 304 stainless and the shell was carbon steel, and 2.86 if both shell and tubes were 304 stainless steel. The summary of the calculated equipment costs is shown below in Table E-1.
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Process Equipment Pumps Unit Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Pump Blower Blower P-101 P-102 P-103 P-104 P-105 P-106 P-107 P-FA P-FB P-FC P-FD P-FE P-FP-01 P-FP-02 P-FP-03 P-FP-04 P-FP-05 P-FP-06 P-S-101 P-S-102 P-S-104 P-S-105 P-S-106 P-S-107 P-S-108 B-101 B-102 No. Units 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ CPB (one unit) 3,700 4,400 4,900 6,400 3,600 4,700 5,300 19,400 3,600 15,700 9,000 6,600 4,500 8,400 4,100 3,900 3,500 10,100 13,100 9,600 4,700 5,200 13,500 15,700 7,200 70,793
264,200
Blowers
Total
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
CPB (all units) FM 7,400 8,800 9,800 12,800 7,200 9,400 10,600 38,800 7,200 31,400 9,000 79,200 4,500 8,400 4,100 3,900 3,500 10,100 13,100 9,600 4,700 5,200 13,500 15,700 7,200 70,793 264,200 670,093
FBM
1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.00 1.00 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 3.30 2.15 2.15 Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
CBM 29,600 35,200 39,200 51,200 28,800 37,600 42,400 155,200 28,800 125,600 36,000 316,800 18,000 33,600 16,400 15,600 14,000 40,400 52,400 38,400 18,800 20,800 54,000 62,800 28,800 152,204 568,030 2,060,634
Table E-1 : Equipment Cost Sheet for the Process (1 of 2)
176

Fabricated Equipment Unit Fermenter Fermenter Fermenter Fermenter Distillation Column Absorber Column Reflux Accumulator Agitators Agitator Agitator Agitator Agitator Agitator Agitator Heat Exchangers HX-FERM Heat Exchanger Heat Exchanger Heat Exchanger Heat Exchanger Heat Exchanger Heat Exchanger Furnace Furnace Vessels Ferm 1 Seed Ferm 5A/B Seed Ferm 6A/B Seed Ferm 7A/B D-1 AB-1 RA-1 for Ferm 1 for T-107 for Seed 6A/B for Seed 7A/B for T-105 for T-108 for Ferm 1 HX-1 HX-2 HX-3 HX-4 HX-5 HX-6 FN-1 No. Units 12 2 2 2 1 1 1 12 1 2 2 1 1 12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Cpb (one unit) 341,500 30,700 100,900 150,400 798,000 117,100 47,000 44,200 44,200 6,500 20,800 29,900 9,100 4,200 132,300 22,049 113,900 65,900 21,200 60,237 1,717,600 Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Cpb (all units) FM 4,098,000 61,400 201,800 300,800 798,000 117,100 47,000 530,400 44,200 13,000 41,600 29,900 9,100 50,400 132,300 22,049 113,900 65,900 21,200 60,237 1,717,600 8,475,886
FBM
2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 1.67 2.86 1.67 1.67 1.67 1.67 1.67 2.80 4.16 4.16 4.16 4.16 4.16 4.16 3.05 3.21 3.21 3.21 3.21 3.21 3.21 1.80 3.17 1.80 3.17 3.17 3.17 3.17 1.86 Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
CBM 24,424,080 365,944 1,202,728 1,792,768 4,756,080 697,916 227,950 2,657,304 221,442 65,130 208,416 149,799 45,591 124,488 665,469 54,461 437,376 253,056 81,408 231,310 6,286,416 44,949,132
Storage Storage Tanks Unit Broth Storage Tank T-107 Glycerol Storage T-101 CSL Storage T-103 Brine Storage T-104 Feed Mixing Tank T-105 Sterilized Feed Tank T-106 Denatured Ethanol Holding T-111 Tank Succinic Acid Storage Tank T-110 Mixing Tank T-108 Gasoline Storage TankT-109 No. Units 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Cpb (one unit) 582,900 564,600 49,600 65,700 42,500
338,000
453,300 27,600 26,800 101,000 Total
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Cpb (all units) FM 582,900 564,600 49,600 65,700 42,500 338,000 453,300 27,600 26,800 101,000 2,252,000.00
FBM
2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 1.00 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.05 4.16 3.05 3.05 Total
CBM $ 2,827,065 $ 2,738,310 $ 240,560 $ 318,645 $ 206,125 $ 1,639,300 $ 2,198,505 $ 164,496 $ 129,980 $ 308,050 $ 10,771,036.00 CBM
Miscellaneous Unit Spray Nozzles Spray Nozzles Reverse Osmosis Glycerol Pur. Sys. Rotary Drum Filter Rotary Drum Filter Electrodialysis Electrodialysis Crystallizer Crystallizer Dryer Dryer Screw Conveyor Screw Conveyor Molecular Sieves Molecular Sieves Spray Nozzles For FERM 1-12 for Seed 7A/B R-101 RDF-1 ED-1 C-1 DR-1 CB-1 MS-1 No. Units 48 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Cpb (one unit) $ 10,000 $ 10,000 $ -$ 184,400 -$ 154,500 $ 22,200 $ 13,000 $ 2,746,200 Total Cpb (all units) FM $ 480,000 $ 60,000 $ -$ 184,400 -$ 154,500 $ 22,200 $ 13,000 $ 2,746,200 $ 3,660,300.00
FBM
1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.32 2.06 2.06 1.61 1.00 Total $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
480,000 60,000 430,800 427,808 2,700,000 318,270 45,732 20,930 2,746,200 7,229,740.00 65,010,542
Table E-1 : Equipment Cost Sheet for the Process (2 of 2)
177
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Utility Requirements The utility cost for the entire plant includes costs for electricity, steam, water (cooling and process), waste water treatment, and landfill. These costs are summarized in Table E-2. Prices for utilites were obtained using the 3rd Edition of Product and Process Design Principles by Seider, Seader, Lewin, and Widagdo.
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Utility Process Water
Stream S-FP-102 S-FP-105 S-S-127 S-S-101
L/hr 4832.30 151105.00 4514 27022.50
m^3/ hr 4.83 151.11 4.51 27.02
cost ($/ m^3) cost/hr cost/yr $0.20 $0.97 $7,654.36 $0.20 $30.22 $239,350.32 $0.20 $0.90 $7,150.18 $0.20 $5.40 $42,803.64 $296,958.50 cost ($/kg) cost/yr $35,022.24 $35,022.24 cost/yr $336,377.21 $336,377.21
Waste Water
Stream S-S-134
kg/hr 13.40
$0.33
$4.42
Steam - 150 psig
Equipment HX-2
kg/hr 4044.94
cost( $/1000 kg) $10.50
$42.47
Steam - 50 psig
Equipment HX-6 MS-1
kg/hr
16775
cost( $/1000 kg) cost/hr cost/yr $6.60 $110.72 $876,862.80 $4.77 $37,789.41 $914,652.21 m^3/hr
1087.87
cooling water
Stream HX-4 HX-5 MS-1 HX-FERM
l/hr
$/m^3 23.77 21.00
1087870.00
23766.11
21003.00
cost/hr cost/yr $21.76 $172,318.61 $0.48 $3,764.55 $8.95 $70,855.17 $0.02 $0.42 $2,015.78 $248,954.11 $0.02 $0.02 $/day $/yr $0.00 $29.85
chilled water
Stream HX-FERM
BTU/HR BTU/day $/btu 298539.57 7164949.62
$9,851.81 $9,851.81
Landfill
Stream Biomass cake
kg/hr 505.47
cost ($/kg) $0.17 $85.93 $680,564.81 $680,564.81
Electricity
Stream HP P-S-101 P-S-102 P-S-104 P-S-105 P-S-106 P-S-107 P-S-108 CB-1 RDF-1 Agitator for T-108 ED-1 B-102 MS-1 P-FA A P-FA B
Kw 67.95 37.31 10.47 14.91 68.28 46.81 7.10 1.00 11.78 4.00 1602.65 67.22 67.22
cost($ / kW-hr) cost/hr cost/yr $0.06 $3.04 $24,078.53 $0.06 $1.67 $13,221.04 $0.06 $0.47 $3,710.11 $0.06 $0.67 $5,283.46 $0.06 $3.05 $24,195.47 $0.06 $2.09 $16,587.43 $0.06 $0.32 $2,516.47 $0.06 $0.04 $354.36 $0.06 $0.53 $4,173.26 $0.06 $0.18 $1,417.43 $190,200.00 1195.09 $0.06 $71.71 $567,908.07 $4.77 $37,789.41 50.13 $0.06 $3.01 $1,202.75 50.13 $0.06 $3.01 $1,202.75 50.67 27.82 7.81 11.12 50.92 34.91 5.30 0.75 8.78 2.98
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P-FB A P-FB B P-FC A P-FC B P-FD B-101 Agitators Ferm 1-12 Agitator for T-107 P-FE(1-12) P-101A P-101B P-102A P-102B P-103A P-103B P-104A P-104B P-105A P-105B P-106A P-106B P-107A P-107B Agitator for Ferm6A Agitator for Ferm6B Agitator for Ferm7A Agitator for Ferm7B P-FP-01 P-FP-02 P-FP-03 P-FP-04 P-FP-05 P-FP-06 Agitator for T-105 2.31 2.31 42.77 42.77 36.94 300.00 240.00 20.00 43.80 1.12 1.12 7.49 7.49 10.76 10.76 20.25 20.25 1.22 1.22 9.26 9.26 13.68 13.68 2.25 2.25 17.17 17.17 9.34 33.68 0.15 5.02 1.53 45.43 32.60 1.72 1.72 31.89 31.89 27.55 223.71 178.97 14.91 32.66 0.83 0.83 5.59 5.59 8.03 8.03 15.10 15.10 0.91 0.91 6.91 6.91 10.20 10.20 1.67 1.67 12.80 12.80 6.96 25.11 0.11 3.75 1.14 33.88 24.31 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.06 $0.10 $0.10 $1.91 $1.91 $1.65 $13.42 $10.74 $0.89 $1.96 $0.05 $0.05 $0.34 $0.34 $0.48 $0.48 $0.91 $0.91 $0.05 $0.05 $0.41 $0.41 $0.61 $0.61 $0.10 $0.10 $0.77 $0.77 $0.42 $1.51 $0.01 $0.22 $0.07 $2.03 $1.46 $445.47 $445.47 $4,591.53 $4,591.53 $13,089.93 $64,412.36 $51,529.89 $7,087.13 $9,404.20 $0.13 $0.13 $8.93 $8.93 $12.84 $12.84 $96.62 $96.62 $0.15 $0.15 $1.10 $1.10 $16.32 $16.32 $482.12 $482.12 $3,686.79 $3,686.79 $3,308.48 $11,934.38 $51.66 $1,780.29 $542.02 $16,099.56 $11,552.02 $1,103,316.45 $3,625,697.34
Total
Table E-2: Utility cost Per Year

$/year $/units units/year units $296,958 $0.20 1,484,792 m^3 $35,022 $0.33 106,128 kg $336,377 $0.01 32,035,925 kg $914,652 $0.01 138,583,668 kg $248,954 $0.02 12,447,706 m^3 $9,852 $0.0000041667 2,364,414,458 BTU $680,565 $0.17 4,003,322 kg $1,103,316 $0.06 18,388,608 kW-hr units/gallon ethanol 0.02949 0.00211 0.63628 2.75248 0.24723 46.96080 0.07951 0.36523
Process Water Waste Water 150 psig Steam 50 psig Steam Cooling Water Chilled Water Landfill Electricity
Table E-3 : Utility cost per unit product 180
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Operating Costs The process has three main sections, glycerol purification, fermentation, and separation. For continuous processes with solids, it is advised to have 2 operators on hand (Seider) while 3 are recommended for batch systems with solids. Therefore, we have assumed 7 operators at all times, paid $35/hour. It is assumed that the plant will be in operation for 15 years after construction, and that design and construction take one year each. The plant will be located on the Gulf Coast and will operate 330 days per year as recommended in Product and Process Design Prinicples by Seider, Seader and Lewin. The working capital assumes 3 days of inventory and 30 days of receivables.
181
182
183
As the investment summary shows below, an investment of $107.6MM will be required to begin this process. With the initial process equipment priced at $65MM, the standard cost of land, contractors and services for construction workers, site preparation, et cetera, account for nearly half the total investment.
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April, 2009
Investment Summary
Glycerol to Ethanol
TOTAL
Bare Module Costs

Fabricated Equipment Vessels Agitators Heat Exchangers Miscellaneous Process Machinery Pumps Blowers S torage Storage Tanks $33,467,500 $3,347,700 $8,134,000 $7,229,800 Total Fabricated Equipment: $52,179,000 $1,340,400 $720,300 Total Process Machinery: $2,060,700 $10,771,100 Total Storage: $10,771,100
Total Bare Module Costs:
$65,011,000
Direct Permanent Investment

Cost of Site Preparation: $3,250,600 Cost of Service Facilities: $3,250,600 Allocated Costs for utility plants and related facilities: $0 Direct Permanent I nvestment: $71,512,000
Total Depreciable Capital

Cost of Contigencies and Contractor Fees: $12,872,200 Total Depreciable Capital: $84,384,000
Total Permanent Investment

Cost of Land: Cost of Royalties: Cost of Plant Start-Up: $1,687,700 $0 $8,438,400 Total Permanent I nvestment: $94,510,000
Working Capital
I nventory Ethanol Glycerol Corn Steep Liquor Gasoline Accounts Receivable: Cash Reservces: Accounts Payable: Total W orking Capital: TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT a a a a 458,000 gal 7,232,000 lb 155,000 lb 24,000 gal $1,144,300 $361,600 $3,900 $75,900 Total I nventory: $1,585,600 $11,442,900 $0 $0 $13,028,500 $107,538,500
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Variable Cost Summary

April, 2009
Glycerol to Ethanol
Per gal Ethanol
TOTAL $39,775,500 $425,300 $8,347,300 $48,548,100 $336,400 $914,700 $297,000 $249,000 $1,119,900 $9,900 $680,600 $35,000 $3,642,300 -$16,835,400 -$16,835,400 $3,776,200 $6,041,800 $629,400 $2,517,400 $1,573,400 $14,538,200 $49,893,200
Raw Materials
Glycerol Corn Steep Liquor Gasoline Total Raw Materials: $0.79 per gal of Ethanol $0.01 per gal of Ethanol $0.17 per gal of Ethanol $0.96 per gal of Ethanol $0.01 per gal of Ethanol $0.02 per gal of Ethanol $0.01 per gal of Ethanol $0.00 per gal of Ethanol $0.02 per gal of Ethanol $0.00 per gal of Ethanol $0.01 per gal of Ethanol $0.00 per gal of Ethanol $0.07 per gal of Ethanol -$0.33 per gal of Ethanol -$0.33 per gal of Ethanol $0.08 per gal of Ethanol $0.12 per gal of Ethanol $0.01 per gal of Ethanol $0.05 per gal of Ethanol $0.03 per gal of Ethanol $0.29 per gal of Ethanol $0.99 per gal of Ethanol
$48,548,100
Utilties
High Pressure Steam Low Pressure Steam Process Water Cooling Water Electricity Chilled Water Landfill Waste Water Treatment Total Raw Materials:
$52,190,400
Byproducts
Succinic Acid Total Byproducts: $35,355,000
General Expenses
Selling / Transfer: Direct Research: Allocated Research: Administrative Expense: Management Incentives: Total Byproducts: TOTAL
$49,893,200 $49,893,200
From the Variable Cost Summary, we can see that this process has a low utility cost and suggests that we have optimized the utility usage. Glycerol makes up 60% of the variable costs when counting succinic acid as revenue. (On the above spreadsheet, succinic acid revenue is shown as negative cost rather than as revenue, so glycerol appears to make up 80% of the variable cost.) Succinic acid produces revenues of $16.8MM per year, composing 12% of total revenue. Total variable costs per gallon of ethanol are $1.32, and total revenues are $2.83 at the base case.
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April, 2009
Fixed Cost Summary

Glycerol to Ethanol
TOTAL Direct Wages and Benefits: Direct Salaries and Benefits: Operating Supplies and Services: Technical Assistance to Manufacturing: Control Laboratory: Total Operations: $2,548,000 $382,200 $152,880 $0 $0 $3,083,080
Operations
$3,083,080
Maintenance
Wages and Benefits: Salaries and Benefits: Materials and Services: Maintenance Overhead: $3,797,280 $949,320 $3,797,280 $189,864 Total Maintenance: $8,733,744 $545,053 $184,243 $452,931 $568,083 $1,750,310
$11,816,824
Operating Overhead
General Plant Overhead: Mechanical Department Services: Employee Relations Department: Business Services: Total Operating Overhead:
$13,567,134 $15,254,814 $15,254,814
Property Insurance and Taxes

Total Property Insurance and Taxes: $1,687,680 TOTAL
The largest fixed cost the plant will have is maintenance. Maintenance is calculated as a percentage of installed costs, and therefore, changes in installed costs will affect profitability two fold in the investment, and in increased fixed costs. Seven operators cost $2.5MM and require $400K in management.
April, 2009
Profitability Measures
Glycerol to Ethanol
The Investor's Rate of Return (IRR) for this Project is: 32.24% The Net Present Value (NPV) at 15% for this Project is: $95,172,000
187
188
At a glycerol price of $0.05 /lb, an ethanol price of $2.50/gallon, a gasoline price of $2.00/ gallon and a succinic acid price of $2.00/ lb, our process has a very high IRR of 32.24%. This makes the investment opportunity outlined in this report highly favorable. Taking into account fluctuations in the prices of these commodities as shown in the sensitivity analysis, given current global and national trends, this process seems to only get more profitable over time. As can be seen in the cash flow summary, a shortened depreciation schedule of 5 years increases the profitability of the plant in the first few years of operation. This results in a higher IRR because the time value of money severely reduces present value of profits later on. The plant reaches positive cash flow in its first year of operation, and reaches an annual profit , after taxes, of $38MM. The economic analysis of this process is highly favorable, and suggests that further research be performed.
189
Sensitivity Analysis
Section XIII
190
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Sensitivity Analysis Because the process is connected with the price of oil, both by the price of the feedstock gasoline (for denaturing) and through the prices of ethanol and glycerol (the connections of which will be covered shortly), the economics of the plant will likely vary significantly over the projected 15 years of operation. This likelihood necessitates analyzing the effect of projected trends on the profitability of the plant. Furthermore, it is important to know what costs and prices significantly affect profitability, and which affect it less. The processs main factors for determining profitability are the price of glycerol, the price of succinic acid, the price of ethanol, and the price of gasoline. In the base case of $0.05/lb for glycerol, $2.00/lb for succinic acid, $2.50/gallon ethanol, and $3.15/gallon gasoline, glycerol comprises 60% of the variable costs of the process while gasoline comprises another 12%. 88% of revenues are provided by ethanol while the remaining 12% are from succinic acid. Interestingly, there is a significant correlation between ethanol prices and crude oil prices, along with the more obvious correlation between gasoline prices and crude oil prices. For this reason a sensitivity analysis was performed on crude oil instead of both gasoline and ethanol to reduce the number of independent variables. Glycerol prices are indirectly dependent on crude oil prices because higher crude oil prices drive up biodiesel production, which increases the glycerol supply, reducing glycerol prices. Quantitative analysis of this relationship however is not reliable so this correlation is not taken into account in this analysis.
Crude Oil
At the base case, ethanol sales amount to $125MM per year, which is 88% of the annual revenue. Naturally, profitability is closely related to the price of ethanol. Today wholesale ethanol is priced at $1.59/gallon. Oil shortages similar to those in the summer of 2008 are predicted by the United States Department of Energy to drive the price of oil up to close to $125/barrel by 2025. At this price of
191
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial oil, correlations predict ethanol prices to be near $2.60/gallon. Further details of this prediction are available in the competitive and market analysis section.
Linear relationship between Ethanol and Crude Oil Ethanol: (2008-present) y = 0.0116x + 1.0471
3 2.8 2.6 Ethanol USD/gallon Wholesale Price 2.4 2.2 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 30 50 70 90 110 130 150 Crude Oil Price USD/barrel R = 0.9051
Figure SA-1: Ethanol price ($/gallon) vs. Crude Oil Price ($/barrel). Data from Interactive Data Corporation.
Quality of Correlation between Oil Price and Ethanol Price

3 2.8 2.6 2.4 2.2 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 1/3/2008 4/12/2008 7/21/2008 Date 10/29/2008
Ethanol Ethanol Correlation
Ethanol USD/gallon Wholesale Price
2/6/2009
Figure SA-2: Testing the linear regression correlation from Fig. SA-1. Comparison of actual Ethanol price with price predicted from correlation. Data from Interactive Data Corporation.
192
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial While this correlation between ethanol prices and gasoline prices does show imperfections, it is significant. This correlation is valid for the time period since ethanol has been significantly used as a retail fuel (2008) and is caused by the substitute role of ethanol for gasoline. We anticipate the correlation to remain relevant so long as both gasoline and ethanol share the fuel market. A similar, but much stronger, correlation exists between oil and gasoline, as would be expected. Oil is the feed for gasoline and therefore, oil almost completely predicts the price of gasoline. Furthermore, to ensure that the correlation is not changing, in Figure SA-3, a correlation was calculated for the prices of oil and gasoline between 1995 and 2000 then projected forward. As can be seen below, there is almost no difference between this earlier correlation and the long term correlation, suggesting this correlation will hold for some time. At the base case, gasoline costs for denaturing ethanol are $8.3MM/year and constitute 12% of the variable costs of the plant. Variations in the price of gasoline have less effect on the profitability of the plant than ethanol or glycerol prices; however they are still significant. According to the correlations, at $2.50/gallon ethanol, gasoline will cost $3.15/gallon. In the crude oil sensitivity analysis, both the gasoline price and the ethanol price are varied with the use of these correlations with crude oil.
4 Gasoline $/gallon 3.5 3 2 1 0.5 0 0 2.5 1.5
Gas Price vs. Crude Oil Price for Correlation, Data from 1995-2009
y = 0.02552x + 0.10982 R = 0.96828
50
Crude $/barrel
100
150
SA-3: Gasoline Price vs. Crude Oil Price. Data for linear regression pricing correlation. Data from Interactive Data Corporation.
193
4 3.5 Gasoline USD/gallon Wholesale Price 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0
Strength of Correlation between Crude Oil Prices and Gasoline Prices

Gasoline
Gasoline Correlation Gasoline Correlation 2001
10/28/1995
7/24/1998
4/19/2001
1/14/2004
10/10/2006
7/6/2009
Date Figure SA-4: Testing two linear regression correlations for the price of gasoline as a function of the cost of oil. One linear regression is based on data from 2001 to present, and another linear regression is based on data from 1995 to present. Both correlations accurately predict the cost of gasoline from the cost of oil. The actual pricing of gasoline is shown for comparison. Data was collected by Interactive Data Corporation.
Ethanol & Gasoline Prices for varying Crude Oil Prices

4 3.5 USD/gallon 3 2.5 2 1.5 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 Crude USD/barrel Figure SA-5: Price of gasoline and price of ethanol in $/gallon as predicted by the price of crude oil in $/barrel , using correlations determined from Fig. SA-1 and SA-3. Gasoline Ethanol
194
Crude Oil Price Sensitivity Analysis

40
35 Investor Rate of Return %
30
25
20
15 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 Crude USD/barrel Figure SA-6: Process sensitivity analysis: The IRR as a function of the price of crude oil.
In the crude oil sensitivity analysis, the cost of ethanol and the cost of gasoline are varied in tandem, using the values shown in Fig. SA-5, and the glycerol price is kept constant at $0.05/lb. The results of the crude oil sensitivity analysis clearly show that the economics of the plant become significantly better as the price of oil increases. In our base case, the predicted crude oil price from the DOE is near $125/barrel and ethanol is priced at $2.50/gallon (see Fig. SA-5). As the process is highly profitable with high prices for crude oil, it is useful to look at profitability with low prices for crude oil. In Fig. SA-6 the worst case scenario of low crude oil prices is presented. Even if oil stays at present day values of $50/barrel, the IRR will be at 17.7% (with the price of glycerol at $0.05/lb). This eventuality is however unlikely. The plant is very well positioned to become more profitable as the price of oil increases. As the price of oil rises following the current recession, the plant will just be starting production.
195
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Glycerol The price of glycerol has been steadily decreasing over the last few years as the production of glycerol increases in the biodiesel industry. At the moment, very few processes are able to take advantage of the glycerol glut. As new processes like this process start up and demand begins to increase, price may vary significantly until the market reaches equilibrium. Profitability is highly dependent on glycerol price, if the price of glycerol is above 9.4 cents/lb, the process IRR decreases to below 15%. If however glycerol continues to be overproduced in comparison to demand, we have the opportunity to earn an IRR of above 40% at low glycerol prices. The plant is designed to handle crude glycerol, the cheapest possible glycerol source, to improve profitability. The plant is well placed, as biodiesel production is growing rapidly (meaning that glycerol production is increasing rapidly as well). We anticipate a continued glut in the glycerol market making this plant highly profitable.
Glycerol Sensitivity Analysis

55 50 Investor Rate of Return % 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Glycerol cents/lb
Figure SA-7: Process sensitivity analysis: The IRR as a function of the price of crude glycerol.
196
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Succinic Acid Succinic acid is a byproduct of the fermentation of glycerol; however it provides a significant portion of our annual revenue. At the base case, sales of succinic acid are predicted to amount to $16.6MM/year. Since this is 12% of annual revenue, changes in the price of succinic acid do significantly alter profitability. The separation for succinic acid still needs to be fine tuned, and production levels may shift by several percent when completely understood, so we have taken a wide variance in succinic acid price to account for this. While higher succinic acid prices would be desirable for our process, our sensitivity analysis shows that succinic acid cannot make the plant unprofitable. In the worst case scenario of $0/lb succinic acid, the IRR will not be reduced to below 25% assuming base case prices for other chemicals.
Succinic Acid Sensitivity Analysis

40.00 35.00
Investor Rate of Return %
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00 0 0.5 1 1.5 Succinic Acid Price USD/lb 2 2.5 3
Figure SA-8: Process sensitivity analysis: The IRR as a function of the price of succinic acid.
197
Conclusion
Section XIV
198
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Conclusions The report contained herein is an exciting and comprehensive first look at the economic viability and design of an ethanol plant with a succinic acid byproduct. The economics of this process appear exceedingly favorable at this time with an IRR of 32.24% and NPV of $95MM in our base case, and with possibility to be even more lucrative. Furthermore, the process has little risk of being unprofitable, with the only concern being the unlikely scenario that the price of crude glycerol rises above $0.094/lb. Further research is needed in laboratory experimentation with the succinic acid separation, as well as arranging for use of the patent-pending licensed glycerol purification system. Both of these nontraditional separation systems will require further information, and it is likely that the purchase and utilities costs will change based on further information and study. Utilities for the glycerol purification system have been ignored, with the exception of estimation for process water usage. Due to the highly profitable nature of this plant, the further research and necessary clarifications to the design have little chance of turning the proposal unprofitable. We find that this is an exciting opportunity deserving of further resources and attention, particularly with the insight that although our process design made use of a hypothetical microorganism, existing E. coli have been grown in favorable conditions to ferment glycerol to ethanol.
199
Bibliography
Section XV
200
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Aden, A., et al. Lignocellulosic Biomass for Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Corn Stover. NREL/TP-510-32438. (2002). Agarwal, L. et al. A cost effective fermentative production of succinic acid from cane molasses and corn steep liquor by Escherichia coli. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 2 April 2005. Bingaman, Sen. Jeff. "S. 1766 [110th]: Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007 ." govtrack.us. 11 July 2007. United States Senate. 5 April 2009 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1766>. Bowen, Diana, Michael Persson, and Felicia Tsaur. 1,3-propanediol from Corn Syrup. Philadelphia: Penn Press, 2008. Boyd, Jade. "Research yields pricey chemicals from biodiesel waste." 30 June 2008. Bio-Medicine. 5 April 2009 <http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Research-yields-pricey-chemicalsfrom-biodiesel-waste-3823-2/>. "Biofuels and Glycerol." The Glycerol Challenge. 30 Mar 2009 <http://theglycerolchallenge.org/>. "Cap and Trade 101." 16 January 2008. Center for American Progress. 5 April 2009 <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/01/capandtrade101.html>. "Chemical Economics Handbook." SRI Consulting. 2009. 5 April 2009 <http://www.sriconsulting.com/CEH/>. Czarniak, Michelle, Elisa Lau and Candice McLeod. The Capture and Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide. Philadelphia: Penn Press, 2008. "Disposables in Bioprocessing, Corn to Ethanol Conversion, Biodiesel Production, etc." 2008. Intelligen, Inc. 5 April 2009 <http://www.intelligen.com/literature.shtml>. Dharmadi, Y., A. Murarka, and R. Gonzalez. Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol by Escherichia Coli: A New Platform for Metabolic Engineering. Wiley InterScience; New York. 20 May 2006. "Economy-wide Cap-and-Trade Proposals in the 110th Congress." 30 January 2008. Pew Center on Global Climate Change. 5 April 2009 <http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/110th%20Congress%20Economywide%20Cap&Trade%20Proposals%2001-30-2008%20-%20Chart.pdf>. "EERE News." Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 01 April 2009. U.S. Department of Energy. 5 April 2009 <http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm>. Efstathiou, Jim. "Obama to Declare Carbon Dioxide Dangerous Pollutant ." Bloomberg.com. 16 October 2008. Bloomberg L.P.. 5 April 2009 <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=alHWVvGnkcd4&refer=canada>.
201
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial "Energy Prices." Bloomberg.com. 5 April 2009. Bloomberg L.P.. 5 April 2009 <http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/>. "Ethanol." 2009. Renewable Fuels Association. 5 April 2009 <http://www.ethanolrfa.org/>. "Frequently Asked Questions About Trees for Change." SPR 2009. SPR. 5 April 2009 <http://www.srpnet.com/environment/trees/faq.aspx>. Gallagher, Dan, Janelle Johnson, Andrea Loayza, and Martin Rogers. Glycerol to Propylene glycol. Philadelphia: Penn Press, 2008. Gonzalez, Ramon and Syed Sham Yazdani. "Anaerobic fermentation of glycerol: a path to economic viability for the biofuels industry." Current Opinion in Biotechnology June 2007, 213-219. 2 April 2009. Kidwell, Huw. Bio-succinic acid to go commercial. 14 January 2008. <http://www.inpharmatechnologist.com/Materials-Formulation/Bio-succinic-acid-to-go-commerical> Kwiatkowski et al. Modeling the Process and Costs of Fuel Ethanol Production by the Corn Dry-Grind Process. U.S. Department of Agriculture. <www. Intelligen.com/literature.shtml>. Lefebvre, Ben. "Glycerine (US Gulf) Price Report." Chemical Pricing Information. 3 September 2008. ICIS Pricing. 30 March 2009 <http://www.icispricing.com/il_shared/Samples/SubPage170.asp>. Lieberman, Sen. Joseph. "S. 2191:[110th] Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007." govtrack.us. 5 December 2007. United States Senate. 5 April 2009 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-2191>. McCoy, Michael. "Glycerine Surplus." Chemical and Engineering News February 2006 7. 2 April 2009 <http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/84/i06/8406notw3.html>. Meynial-Salles, Isabelle, Sophie Dorotyn, and Philippe Soucaille. A New Process for the Continuous Production of Succinic Acid From Glucose at High Yield, Titer, and Productivity. Biotechnology and Engineering 21 May 2007 129-135. 5 April 2009. Mufson, Steven. "Europe's Problems Color U.S. Plans to Curb Carbon Gases." The Washington Post 9 April 2007 A1. 5 April 2009 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/04/08/AR2007040800758_pf.html>. "National Mining Association." 2008. National Mining Association. 5 April 2009 <http://www.nma.org/>. OECD - FAO, "Chapter 4. Biofuels." OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2008-2017 14th Ed.(2008) 67-81. 30 Mar 2009 <http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36774715_36775671_1_1_1_1_1,00.html>. Olver, Rep. John. "H.R. 620 [110th]: Climate Stewardship Act of 2007 ." govtrack.us. 22 January 2007. United States House of Representatives. 5 April 2009 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-620>. 202
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Paster, Mark. Succinic Acid Fermentation Platform. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of the Biomass Program. July 2003. <http://www.productcenter.msu.edu/documents/roa/bio/bio_succinic.pdf>. Perry, R.H.; Green, D.W. (1997). Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook (7th Edition). McGraw-Hill. "Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much will it Cost?." DEC 2008. McKinsey & Company. 5 April 2009 <http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/pdf/US_ghg_final_report.pdf>. Sanders, Sen. Bernard. "S. 309 [110th] Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act." govtrack.us. 16 January 2007. United States Senate. 5 Apr 2009 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110309>. Schweitzer, Philip A. Handbook of Separation Techniques for Chemical Engineers. 3rd. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Seider, Warren D., J.D. Seader, and Daniel R. Lewin. Product and Process Design Principles. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2004. Seider, Warren D., J.D. Seader, and Daniel R. Lewin. Product and Process Design Principles. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2008. Shuler, Michael L. and Fikret Kargi. Bioprocess Engineering. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991. Song et al. Production of succinic acid by bacterial fermentation. Enzyme and Microbial Technology. 3 July 2006, Pages 352-361. "Trees, You, and CO2." The Botanical Society of America. 2008. 5 April 2009 <http://www.botany.org/PlantTalkingPoints/CO2andTrees.php>. Ulrich, Gael D.. A guide to chemical engineering process design and economics. New York: Wiley, 1984. Voegele, Erin. "Glycerin's Role in 2009." Biodiesel Magazine December 2008 <http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2976&q=&page=1>.
203
Acknowledgements
Section XVI
204
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Acknowledgements We would like to thank Professor Warren D. Seider for the direction he gave our group, his ideas, and his patience over the course of this project. To Professor Leonard Fabiano, we thank you for your assistance with the design of agitators and distillation columns, as well as the ideas and support you provided. We would like to thank all the industrial consultants, especially Mr. Bruce Vrana, who not only provided the problem statement, but who served as a sounding board for all our ideas (whether smart or not). To our entire class who suffered with us, we thank you for the late nights, the support you provided, the food and drinks we shared, and the memories of the late nights in the fishbowl. We will look back on one day with unfounded nostalgia.
205
Appendices
Section XVII
206
Appendix A.
Sensitivity Analysis Correlation Example
207
Appendix A. Sensitivity Analysis Correlation Example Correlations between ethanol, gasoline, and oil prices were developed in the following manner. First, the closing prices of commodities were taken and plotted against each other as in the graph below. Strong linear relationships are obvious at first glance. Using excel, a linear trend line is inserted and the equation is shown as below.
Oil Gas Price Correlation 1995-2009

4 3.5 3 Gasoline $ per gallon 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Crude $ per barrel 120 140 160 y = 0.02552x + 0.10982 R = 0.96828
Now, going back to the closing prices, the equation found from the graph above is applied to each closing oil price to find a correlation price of gasoline. This is graphed chronologically with the actual closing price of gasoline to determine how exact the correlation is. The graph below is such a graph, and as can be seen, the correlation is exceptional.
208
Correlation Strength between Crude Prices and Gasoline Prices

4 3.5 3 Gasoline USD/gallon Wholesale Price 2.5 2
Gasoline
1.5 1 0.5 0 10/28/1995 7/24/1998 4/19/2001 1/14/2004 10/10/2006 7/6/2009 Date
Gasoline Correlation
209
Appendix B.
Equipment Costing and Sizing Calculations
210
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Appendix B. Equipment Costing and Sizing Calculations
Agitators:
Agitators for 2,000,000 L tanks FERM1 (through FERM12) and Broth Storage Tank T-107 are priced and designed based on quotes from supplier The Kahl Company, Inc. (See following page). Industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana recommended the power requirement factor of 0.1 HP/1,000 gallons of fluid in the tank for the specific application, and this factor was applied to determine the energy requirements and costs of agitators for Seed Ferm 6A/B and Seed Ferm 7A/B. For the mixing agitators (for T-105 and T-108), 2 HP/1,000 gallons of fluid is estimated as an approximation (in range provided in Seider 537). These power requirements are used in tandem with the following equation (for turbine-powered agitators on enclosed tanks) for pricing, including the costs of the motors and shafts (Seider 553). Since the price quote for the agitators is given for 304 stainless steel and the Method of Guthrie for determining installation cost assumes a base cost of equipment in carbon steel, a materials factor of 1.7 was used to determine the carbon steel cost of agitators for Ferm 1-12 and T-107. = 566 2850 394
.
Where S is the motor power requirement, in HP.

Agitator for use in: Volume (L) Volume (gal) Power req. (HP) CP (CE = 394) CP (2009) CPB (2009, for Guthrie) -$75,000 $ 44,200 Ferm 1-12 2,000,000 528,344 20.0 -$75,000 $ 44,200 T-107 3,254,965 859,870 20.0
T-105 62,731 16,307 32.6 $13,992 $29,900 $29,900
Seed Ferm 7A/B 650,000 171,711 17.2 $14,410 $20,800 $20,800
Seed Ferm 6A/B 85,000 22,454 2.2 $4,519 $6,500 $6,500
T-108 7,619 2,012 4.0 $6,303 $9,100 $9,100
211
E-mail communication: Hello Mr. Kahl, I am a chemical engineering student at the University of Pennsylvania designing a chemical plant for my senior design project that uses 2,000,000 L fermenter tanks. Professor Len Fabiano recommended that I ask you about the costs and energy requirements associated with the agitation to be used in these tanks. We are looking for mild agitation, our volume of liquid in the tank is about 1,500,000 L/batch, and the fluid is mostly water. We want to suspend E coli (~0.5 um particles) in the solution and ensure an even temperature distribution in the tanks. The solids content is about .4 % by mass. We are also generating gas in the anaerobic fermentation reaction, at a flow rate of 2415 kg/hr, which we believe will aid in the agitation process. The tanks have a 2:1 aspect ratio, with a height of ~72 ft and a diameter of ~36 ft. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or help you may be able to provide. Thank you for your time, Chloe LeGendre Chloe, I got some information for you for your project that I hope helps. For this application, using some similar agitators we have sold in the past, you would be looking at a mixer with a 20hp motor, running at about 30 RPM. It would use three 88 hydrofoil impellers. If the shaft and impellers were made out of 304 stainless steel, a rough price of about 75000/each would be right in the ballpark. I hope this helps! Best Regards, Nicholas Clucas The Kahl Company, Inc Tel: 302-478-8450 Cell: 302-353-7317 Fax: 302-478-4826
212
Blowers:
Modeled as Centrifugal (Turbo) Blower (Seider, 510, 518-519)
CP = FMCB FM = 0.6, for Aluminum CB = (566/394)exp{6.6547 + 0.7900[ln(PC)]}
PC , Power Consumption (HP) = PB/M PB, Brake Horsepower = 0.00436(

1 k + 1 QI PI PO kk ) [( ) 1] k B PI
B, Mechanical Efficiency = 0.75 k, Constant specific heat ratio = 1.4 M, Electric Motor Efficiency = 0.8 + 0.0319(lnPB) 0.00182(lnPB)2
B-101 Q(ft /min) k b Pi (psi) Po (psi0 Po/Pi Pb (HP) m Pc (HP) Cb(base cost )
3
B-102 70,214.00 1.40 0.75 14.70 18.71 1.27 1,500.00 0.94 1,602.65 $ 264,200 1.40 0.75 14.80 19.00 1.28
12,522.00
278.97 0.92 300.65 $ 70,800
213
Crystallizer (C-1)
Crystallizers are sized by the amount of crystals produced. The process produces 12.23367 tons per day. Price is calculated by the equation from Table 16.32 in Seider (Draft-tube baffled crystallizer), where W is tons of crystals produced per day: = 566 $22,200( ) 394
.
CP= $ 107,526 CPB(2009) = $154,500
214
Distillation Towers:
The cost of a tower is found using the following equation (Seider 528): = exp [7.0374 + 0.018255 (ln( )) + 0.02297((ln( )) ] = ( + )( + 0.8 )
Where W= weight of the distillation column (lbs)
Where Di = the diameter of the distillation column in inches, L = the length of the distillation column in inches, Ts = the wall thickness of the distillation column in inches, = the density of steel, 0.284 lb/ in3. To find the Length (L): The number of theoretical stages is 32 as reported by ASPEN simulation (RADFRAC). The length for the distillation column was calculated using spacing of 2 feet between each tray, as well as an extra 10 feet at the bottom and 4 feet at the top of the column for the reboiler and condenser. The efficiency is assumed to be 40% per suggestion by industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana. N(theoretical) = 32 stages N(actual) = 32/.4 = 80 stages L = 79*2 + 10 + 4 = 172 ft One stage is subtracted because the reboiler acts as a stage while not actually requiring space for a tray. To find the thickness ts: Di = 12 ft L = 172 ft Therefore, W =140,476 lbs Therefore, Cv= $ 249,734 = 12
12 1
1 2
172
12 1
+ 0.8(12 )
12 1
1 2
0.284
= exp [7.0374 + 0.018255(ln(140,476)) + 0.02297((ln(140,476)) ]
Cost of Platforms & Ladders (Seider 528): = 237.1( ) . ( ) . . = 237.1(11) (162) CPL= $ 70,835 Cost of Trays (Seider 532): The costs of the trays are determined by the following equation: Where: CBT = $ 2,973 NT = 79 =
= 369 exp (0.1739 ) 215
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial FNT = 1 (for > 20 trays) FTT = 1 (for Sieve Trays. Industrial Consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana recommends Baffle Trays for the distillation tower, but indicated that this pricing correlation would be conservative, as Baffle Trays are mechanically simpler than Sieve Trays) =1( )
CT= $234,930 CP = total cost of column
= 74(1)(1)(2.197)($2973) = $234,930 = 566 ( 394 + + )
FM=Function of Materials FM= 1 for Carbon Steel CP(2009) = $ 798,000
Distillation Column D-1 Theoretical Stages Efficiency Actual Stages Stages used Diameter (Aspen) Diameter Used (ft) Length (ft) Shell Thickness (in) Weight (lb) Cost of Vessel Cost of Platforms & Ladders Base Cost of Trays FTM CT CPB (2009, for Guthrie) 32 0.4 80 80 12 12 172 0.5 140,476 $249,734 $70,835 $2,973 1 $234,930 $798,000
Absorber AB-1 7 0.4 17.5 18 5.46 5.5 50 0.3125 12,069 $48,148 $16,055 $960 1 $17,285 $117,100
216
Dryer:
Assuming no more than 25Wt% water in the crystals, the dryer needs to vaporize, at most, 114.7 kg/hr of water, requiring a heat duty of 273,651 BTU/hr. Because of the low temperature needed, 212 F, we selected an indirect-heat steam-tube rotary dryer, heated by steam at 298 F. As per Philip A. Schweitzer, dryers are quite complex and unpredictable, however the best general modeling of a dryer is as a heat exchanger. So, to calculate the area of the dryer we used the standard heat exchanger formula: T = 86 F U = 700 BTU/(F-ft2-hr) (Seider Table 13.5 for water/steam heat exchanger) A= (273,651 Btu/hr)/[(86 F)*(700 BTU/(F-ft2-hr))] A= 4.5 ft2 Assume 45 ft2 just to be extra safe given the number of unknowns A= 45 ft2 The purchase cost is found using the formula for indirect-heat steam-tube rotary dryer (Seider 553), where A is area in ft2. 566 3500( ) . = 394 CP (2009) = $22,200 =
217
Electro-dialysis:
According to Perrys Chemical Engineering Handbook, the price of an electro dialysis plant with a flow rate of 2000 m3/day has a cost of $665,000 in 1993, and that this price is scalable at a 0.7 power. According to the plant cited, the equipment price was $1,210,000 while installation was $600,000, yielding a Bare Module factor of 1.5. Flow rate for electro-dialysis is based on the volume of clean water produced in m3/day. CED=(4,333 m3/2000 m3) (0.7) *$665,000 CED=$1,142,500 Adjusted by the CE index: CED (2009) =CED (1993)/CE (1993)*CE (2009) = $1,142,500/359*566 CED (2009)=$1,801,000 CBM (2009) = $1,801,000 * 1.5 = $2,700,000 Daily Incremental Cost: Perrys cites typical operating costs of electro dialysis as $133 per 1000 m3 in 1993 dollars Operating Cost = ($133/1000 m3)*(4,333 m3/day)*(330 days/year) Operating Cost = $190,200/year
218
External Heat Losses from FERM1-12

Since the majority of the plant equipment will be outdoors, additional calculations need to be done to estimate the heat required to replace any heat lost to the atmosphere by the fermentation tanks. The average temperature of the Gulf Coast was approximated to be the average temperature of Louisiana which is 58 F .The air velocity was also estimated to be that of Louisiana and that was reported to be 10 MPH. The heat loss from one of the 2,000,000 L fermenters was approximated to be that of a cylinder in cross flow. The Reynolds number was calculated using tabulated values for air at the reported temperatures and velocities using
Re D =
VD
Where - density of the fluid (kg/m3) D - diameter of the cylinder (m) V - average velocity of the fluid (m/s) - viscosity of the fluid (Pa-s)
The heat transfer coefficients may be determined by correlations obtained from dimensional analysis (Incropera & Dewitt). = = 0.3 + 0.62
/ /
Where h-heat transfer coefficient (SI units: W/(m2K)) d-Diameter of the cylinder (m) Pr-Prandtl number k- thermal conductivity, (SI units : W/(m-K) ) With the heat transfer coefficient calculated the heat dissipation can be calculated from Newtons Law of cooling. That is Q= h AS(Ts-Tinf) Where As Surface Area of Cylinder(DL )( in m2) Tinf Temperature of Air
Air Temp (K) 287.4
0.4 1 + Pr
1+
28200
Film Temp(K) 298.7 Diameter 10.820 3.781 7.450
Density (kg/m^3) 1.1614 Length 21.671 7.563 14.900
x 107(N/m2) 184.6 Re 3043875.897 1063748.065 2095737.894
k x 103 (W/m-K) 26.3 Nu 3272.024 1297.874 2339.798
Pr 0.707 h 7.953 9.027 8.260 Q(kW) 58.588 8.110 28.805 Q(BTU/hr) 55.529 7.687 27.301
Ferm 1 Seed 6 Seed 7
219
Fermenter Tanks:
Determination of required Volumes Total Ethanol produced per year = 50 MM gallons (denatured with gasoline) Operation for 330 days/yr 50 MM gallons/yr 23,897 L/hr (denatured with gasoline) Denatured ethanol is 2-5% gasoline by volume. Pure ethanol produced per year = 22,703 L/hr to 23,420 L/hr Cycle Time = 297 hr/cycle (for 3 full fermentation periods) (see below) 100 g Ethanol/ L of reaction (end ethanol titer specified by problem statement) ~22,900 297 0.79 = 53,495,640 1 0.001 1 100
One cycle is 3 fermentation periods (see below) Maximum volume for fermentation tank = 2,000,000 L (Shuler & Kargi), with suggested working volume from 70% (Shuler & Kargi) to 83% (Kwiatkowski). 1,500,000 L is 75% working volume. 53,495,640 1 1 1,500,000 12
Twelve (12) 2,000,000 L tanks at a working volume of about 75% are required for operation at the current schedule posted below. Cycle based on largest fermenters (bottleneck): Charge with biomass from Seed 7A/B Charge with glycerol feed from T-106 Ferment/React Drain to T-107 (95%) Charge with glycerol feed Ferment/React Drain to T-107 (95%) Charge with glycerol feed Ferment/React Drain to T-107 (100%) Clean-in-Place Total time (hr) =27 (stagger time) =5 =60 =5 =5 =60 =5 =5 =60 =5 =60 =297 hours
Initial stagger time S (27 hours) determined using: S + 4(60 hr) +3(5 hr) + 3(5 hr) = 11 S (For 12 tanks, need 11 staggered start times after first for fully staggered configuration)
220
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial One cycle consists of three fermentation/ reaction periods or batches, as seen above. All flow rate values in the batch material balance blocks refer to the flow requirements for one batch within each three-batch cycle. The problem statement gives 1.6 g Ethanol formed per L reaction volume per hour, with an end concentration of 100 g Ethanol / L. The 60 hour fermentation time was determined by dimensional analysis: (100 g/L)/(1.6 g/L-hr) = 62.5 hours. However, a small portion of ethanol is fed to each reactor during the seed fermentation seed (5%, or 1/20), and 62.5 * 0.95 60 hours. The exception to this is the first stage seed fermenter 1A/B, which is fed only biomass (containing no ethanol) and therefore requires 62.5 hours to reach the required ethanol titer. Glycerol added beyond what could stoichimetrically react to form 100 g ethanol /L would not be consumed, because at higher ethanol concentrations, E. Coli are killed. Accordingly, the design problem statement required that a stoichiometric amount of glycerol be added to form 100 g Ethanol / L of solution. Some of the ethanol produced is vaporized and leaves in the vapor exit streams. The quantity of water and ethanol leaving as vapor are determined using Aspen in a Flash calculation at 37 C. Approximately 4.9% by mass of the ethanol produced is vaporized, and 0.49 % by mass of the water contents is vaporized, using NRTL property estimations. These figures are calculated using the final contents of the reactions, so they represent a worst case scenario of ethanol and water removed from the liquid phase (as less ethanol exists in solution for the majority of the reaction time). Accordingly, dilute glycerol feed was added to stoichiometrically react to form the 100 g Ethanol / L of solution as if none were to evaporate, since the evaporation quantity was an estimate. The liquid exit streams, as a result of the evaporation calculations, appear to have ~95 g Ethanol/ L. The process begins with 1 mL of biomass/ E. coli cells, specified in the design problem statement, referred to as the inoculum from the laboratory. The problem states that each successive reactor can be 20 times as large as the previous reactor, so the first stage of fermentation (Seed Ferm. 1A/1B) has a working volume of about 20 mL. (19.1 mL of glycerol feedstock is added to the 1 mL inoculum, but the volume at the end of the 62.5 hour period is ~ 19.4 mL). Seed Ferm 1A is charged with a 1 mL inoculum sample, as is Seed Ferm 1B. Each starts a separate seed fermentation train (Train A and Train B). The reaction occurs, and as per the problem statement, 98% of the glycerol reacts to form ethanol, while 1% reacts to form succinic acid and 1% reacts to form biomass. The reactions were entered into SuperPro designer for the mass balance information, with 98% glycerol conversion for the ethanol reaction. This reaction was first in series with the two parallel reactions of 50% conversion of the remaining glycerol to succinic acid and 50% conversion of the glycerol to biomass. Glycerol CO2 + H2 + Ethanol CO2 + Glycerol Succinic Acid + H2O Glycerol 3.0075(Biomass) + H2O (Biomass has a molecular weight of 24.63 g/mol) The contents of Seed Fermenter 1A is then transferred to Seed Fermeter 2A. Seed Fermenters 2A/B have working volumes of approximately (20 mL *20) = 400 mL. The appropriate stoichiometric quantity of glycerol was determined using SuperPro designer for all stages. After the next 60 hours of reaction, the contents of Seed Ferm 2A/B are transferred to Seed Ferm 3A/B, with a working volume of about (400 L)*20 = 8 L. Following this trend, seed Fermenters 4A/B have working volumes of about (8 L *20) = 221
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial 160 L, seed Fermenters 5A/B have working volumes of about (160 L *20) = 3200 L, and seed Fermenters 6A/B have working volumes of about (3,200 L *20) = 64,000 L. The precise working volume of the final large scale fermenter is 1,577,642 L upon charging, and 1,525,404 L at the end of the reaction. The portion of seed volume required to charge these large scale fermentation tanks (1/20) of this volume, is therefore between 76,270 and 78,882 L. A value of 77,090 L was chosen to represent the required charging volume per tank, and 12 seed portions of this size were required, six for each fermentation train. Accordingly, 77,090 x 6 = 460,000 L was chosen as the approximate working volume of seed fermenters 7A/B, even though this volume only represents a multiplication factor of about 7 from the scaling up to 7A/B from 6A/B. (The initial working volume of seed fermenters 7A/B is 471,800 L, and the final working volume is 457,000 L). The alternative of having one fermentation train with Seed 7A as 77,090 L x 12 portions was not selected, as the draining from this tank to the twelve larger tanks followed by a significant cleaning time of ~60 hours represented a bottleneck in the process. The addition of a second seed fermentation train, with the final volume of seed fermenter 7A/B split into six portions for charging the main fermenters, removed this bottleneck.
222
Fermenter Tank Costs

Tanks Seed 1A/B, Seed 2A/B, Seed 3A/B, and Seed 4A/B are considered too small to contribute to the overall cost estimate. L/D Aspect Ratio for all tanks = 2:1 (Shuler & Kargi). L and D are determined by volume requirement (formula for volume of cylinder is used). The SuperPro Designer Ethanol Dry Grind Process Model (Kwiatkowski et al.) includes cost estimates based on equipment and operating costs and descriptions obtained from industry sources for 304 Stainless Steel Fermentation tanks of 1.9 MM L volume ( volume of FERM1) and 650,000 L ( volume of Seed Ferm 7A/B) volumes with 3:1 or 2:1 aspect ratios. These figures are used to estimate the costs of units FERM1 (through FERM-12) and Seed Ferm 7A/B, as the heights and diameters of these vessels are outside the boundaries for applying cost estimation formulas found in many resources. The value for (FMCV) from the Kwiatkowski model for the 1.9 MM L 304 Stainless steel tank was $470,000 (CE index = 526). The value for (FMCV) for the 650,000 L 304 Stainless steel tank was $197,000 (CE index = 526). The carbon steel value for the base cost of the vessels (for input into the Guthrie Model to determine the installation cost) was determined by dividing the cost of the stainless tower by 1.7, the materials factor for 304 Stainless Steel for vertical vessels. Tanks Seed Ferm 5A/B and Seed Ferm 6A/B were estimated by methods in Seider (527-529) as vertical pressure vessels: = + = exp [7.0374 + 0.018255 (ln( )) + 0.02297((ln( )) ] ( )
.
= 237.1( )
Where W is weight of the vessel in lb, Di is the diameter of the vessel, and L is the height or length of the vessel. was taken as 0.284 lb/in3 for steel, and ts was found using the table for minimum wall thickness at the top of page 530 (Seider). FM was taken as 1, as the Guthire Model requires costs of vessels made of carbon steel.
Ferm 1 (-- Ferm 12) Diameter Used (ft) Length (ft) Shell Thickness (in) Weight (lb) Cost of Vessel CPL Cost of Tower (Stainless Steel) CP (2009, for Guthrie) --$470,000.00 $69,397.61 $539,397.61 $341,500 35.55 71.10 --$197,000.00 $40,541.47 $237,541.47 $150,400 Seed Ferm 7A/B 24.44 48.88 Seed Ferm 6A/B 12.41 24.81 0.25 13,865.04 $52,453.33 $17,768.47 -$100,900 Seed Ferm 5A/B 4.66 9.32 0.25 1,960.18 $17,006.02 $4,308.41 -$30,700
= 285.1( )
( )
3<
+ )( + 0.8 ) < 24 < 21
3<
, 27 <
, 12 <
< 170 < 40
223
Furnace:
Heat duty requirement for reboiler (from Aspen) Q = 76,910,000 BTU/hr Supplied with hydrogen from fermentation process Modeled as Fired heater (Seider 526) with FM = 1 for Carbon Steel, FP = 1 for atmospheric pressure = 566 394
Q CB FM
= exp [0.08505 + 0.766(ln( ))]

76,910,000 $1,195,638 1 $1,717,600
CPB (2009, for Guthrie)
224
Glycerol Purification System:

Although the glycerol purification system is a combination of reverse osmosis, electro/pressure membrane separation, and electro-dialysis, and is a licensed unit available for purchase from EET Corporation, a price is estimated for the system first as reverse osmosis and then as electro-dialysis. A price quote from the company was unavailable. As Reverse Osmosis: Stream S-FP-104 is the purified stream with flow rate = 32,356 L/hr = 205,142 gal/day Approximated as Brackish Water purification (Seider 554): CBM = 2.1*Q With Q in gal/day. CBM = $ 430,800 As Electro-dialysis (using equations above): Stream S-FP-104 Q = 205,142 gal/day = 776 m3/day CED= $ 178,300 CED (2009)=$281,100 CBM (2009)=$421,700 The larger of the costs, that for Reverse Osmosis, was chosen as a starting value for the glycerol purification system installation cost. However, these correlations are provided for purifying water, not a glycerol/water solution.
225
Heat Exchangers
HX-1 (Feed Sterilization Pre-Heater) (Floating Head Shell/Tube Heat Exchanger) Mass flow rate of Glycerol, Water, Corn Steep Liquor = 191,924 kg/hr (S-FP-114) 5 psi pressure drop across both sides of Heat Exchanger. Feed enters at 45 psia to avoid vaporization of feed. Modeled in Aspen as Glycerol/Water Mixture (CSL mass assumed to be water mass). Hot Sterile Feed (S-FP-109) cooled from: 121 C to 37 C (or 250 F to 98.6 F) Heat from Hot Sterile Feed preheats Cold Unsterile Feed (S-FP-114) from 25 C to 111 C (or 77 F to 231.86 F) Exchanger Duty Q calculated from Aspen = 59,665,811 BTU/hr. Upon plant start up, the duty will be provided using 50 psig steam because the hot sterile feed will not yet be available. 2470 kg of 50 psig steam (298 F) will be condensed over a period of five minutes to provide this duty. The sterilized feed will then wait until a valve allows the steam utility to be turned off and the hot sterile feed will then begin to pre-heat the cold unsterile feed as described above. The exchanger area requirement for the start-up will be less, as the value for the heat transfer coefficient for the steam/feed configuration is greater than for the feed/feed configuration. Steam Hvap = 2013.164 Btu/ kg (at 298 F, Perrys Chemical Engineering Handbook). Q = m*Hvap Q/Hvap = 29,637.84 kg /hr steam flow rate 29,637.84 kg/hr * 5 min * (60 min/1 hr) = 2470 kg of steam for start up. HX-2 (Sterilizer) (Double Pipe Heat Exchanger) Mass flow rate of Glycerol, Water, Corn Steep Liquor = 191,924 kg/hr (S-FP-108) 5 psi pressure drop across both sides of Heat Exchanger. Feed enters at 40 psia to avoid vaporization of feed stream. Model in Aspen as Glycerol/Water Mixture (CSL mass assumed to be water mass). 150 psig steam (367 F) with mass flow rate 4045 kg/hr (S-FP-110) is condensed. Pre-heated Feed (S-FP-108) is heated further by steam from 111 C to 121 C (or from 231.86 F to 250 F). This is sterilization temperature (for all organisms, spores). Exchanger Duty Q calculated from Aspen = 7,738,512 BTU/hr. 226
HX-3 (Post-Fermentation Sterilizer) (Floating Head Shell/Tube Exchanger) Mass flow rate of Fermentation Broth = 172,397 kg/hr (S-140) Broth (S-S-109) is heated from 37 C to 92.2 C (or from 98.6 F to 198 F). (past 62.2 C deactivation temperature for E. Coli) 21 psi Water (S-S-135) leaving ED-1 (Electrodialysis) is cooled from 109 C to 43.3 C (or from 228 F to 110.4 F) Exchanger Duty Q calculated from Aspen = 48,041,600 BTU/hr HX-4 (Partial Condenser for Tower D-1) (Floating Head Shell/Tube Heat Exchanger) Mass flow rate of Vapor stream (S-S-130) leaving Tower = 189,673 kg/hr at 82 C (179.5 F) Vapor is partially condensed to liquid using 1,087,869 kg/hr cooling water (S-S-106) heated from 32.2 C to 48.9 C (90 F to 120 F) Exchanger Duty Q calculated from Aspen = 68,130,000 BTU/hr HX-5 (Ethanol Cooler) (Floating Head Shell/Tube Exchanger) Mass flow rate of ethanol stream (S-S-122) = 19,594.03 kg/hr. Ethanol is cooled from its boiling point (exit temperature of liquid ethanol from MS-1) 78.4 C to 50 C (173 F to 122 F) Cooling water is warmed from 32.2 C to 48.9 C (90 F to 120 F) At a flow rate of 23,766.11 kg/hr (S-S-136) Exchanger Duty Q calculated from Aspen =1,488,726.2 BTU/hr HX-Ferm (Exchanger to Maintain T = 98.6 F in Fermenter tanks) (Double Pipe Heat Exchanger) As suggested by the heats of formation calculation, one heat exchanger is provided to cool the contents of each 2,000,000 L fermentation tank. The fluid is circulated over a period of 60 hours (one fermentation period) through a heat exchanger, and the heat duty corresponds to the amount of heat required to cool the contents of one reactor from 109 F to 98.6 F (42.72 C to 37 C)
227
LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Cooling water at a mass flow rate of 22,063 kg/hr (calculated by Aspen) enters at 87.6 F (30.9 C) and leaves at 99 F (37.2 C ) (to maintain a minimum temperature approach of 10 F). In summer months, when cooling water may not be available at 87.6 F, cooling water and chilled water may be combined. Heat Duty Q calculated by Aspen = 518,297 BTU/hr. Assuming cooling water is available at 90F, it makes up 95% of the heat duty, at a flow rate of 21,003 kg/hr per heat exchanger. The remaining 5% of the heat duty is made up using chilled water (40 F). HX-6 (Supplement to Furnace for D-1 Tower Partial Reboiler, Kettle Vaporizer Reboiler) Mass flow rate of mixed stream (S-S-114) entering HX-6 = 217,948 kg/hr The reboiler duty is calculated by subtracting the heat duty given by burning the fermentation-produced hydrogen in the furnace (Qfurn = 76,910,000 BTU/hr ) from the total tower reboiler heat duty requirement as determine by Aspen (Qtower = 110,690,000 BTU/hr). HX-6 heat exchanger duty Q = 33,780,000 BTU/hr This duty is provided by condensing 50 psig steam (298 F) Hvap = 2013.16 BTU/kg (steam at 298 F, Perrys Chemical Engineering Handbook) Q = m*Hvap Q/Hvap = 16,780 kg /hr steam flow rate Costs for Heat Exchangers Heat Exchangers HX -1, HX-3, HX-4, and HX-5 are modeled as Floating Head Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers (Seider 523). = 566 394
=1(
= exp [11.667 0.8709(ln( )) + 0.09005(ln( )) ] =
A is exchanger area in ft2. The values for U, the heat transfer coefficient estimates in Btu/( ft2 hr F ), were obtained from Table 13.5 (Seider 431). Fp = 1 (for pressures < 100 psi) FL = 1 (for tube length = 20 ft).
228
Heat Exchangers Q (BTU/hr) U (BTU/(hr-ft -F) TLM (F) A (ft ) CB FM CPB ( 2009, for Guthrie)
2 2
HX-1 59,665,811 250 19.82 12,042 $ 92,061 1 $ 132,300
HX-2 7,738,512 200 120 321 $ 15,348 1 $ 22,100
HX-3 48,041,600 250 19.22 9,997 $ 79,269 1 $ 113,900
HX-4 68,130,000 200 73.48 4,636 $45,808 1 $ 65,900
HX-5 1,488,726 150 41.66 239 $ 14,734 1 $ 21,200
Heat Exchanger HX-Ferm is modeled as a Double Pipe Heat Exchanger (Seider 524) due to smaller exchanger area requirements. It is modeled as carbon steel shell side / carbon steel tube side for placement into the Guthrie method. This gives FM = 1. For pressures less than 600 psig, FP = 1. The value for U is given in Table 13.5 (Seider 431). = 566 394
= exp [7.1248 + 0.16(ln( ))] =
Heat Exchangers Q (BTU/hr)

2
HX-FERM 518,297 250.00 10.49 197.635 $ 2,894 1 $4,200
U (BTU/(hr-ft -F) TLM (F) A (ft ) CB FM CPB (2009, for Guthrie)

2
Heat Exchanger HX-6 is modeled as a Kettle Vaporizer type Heat Exchanger (Seider 523) due to its functionality as the supplement to the partial reboiler for the distillation column D-1. The value for U, the heat transfer coefficient estimates in Btu/( ft2 hr F ), was obtained from Table 13.5 (Seider 431). = 566 394
=1(
= exp [11.967 0.8709(ln( )) + 0.09005(ln( )) ] 229
Fp = 1 (for pressures < 100 psi) FL = 1 (for tube length = 20 ft).

Heat Exchanger Q (BTU/hr) U (BTU/(hr-ft -F) TLM (F) A (ft ) CB FM CP (2009, for Guthrie)
2 2
HX-6 33,780,000 200 70 689 $41,931 1 $60,300
230
Heat of Reaction Calculation for determining Temperature Change in Reactors

Glycerol Heat of Formation Ethanol Heat of Formation Carbon Dioxide Heat of Formation Hydrogen Heat of Formation Primary Reaction Glycerol Ethanol + CO2 + H2 Hrxn = -5.23 kJ/mol of Ethanol formed (exothermic reaction) Ethanol formation rate in largest reactor: 3,181.96 kmol over 60 hours = 53,032.79 mol/hr = -277,361 kJ/hr Q = CPmT Q = -277,361 kJ/hr CP = 38.08 kJ/kmol-K (mostly water in solution) m = 76129.39 kmol in reactor (water, ethanol, glycerol) (S-132) T = -0.095 K/hr (Temperature rise) Over 60 hours, corresponds to adiabatic temperature rise of 5.74 K = Change from 37 C to 42.74 C (or from 98.6 F to 109 F) (This temperature rise is used to determine the heat duty for HX-FERM) = -655.9 kJ/mol =-277.63 kJ/mol =-393.5 kJ/mol =0 kJ/mol
231
Molecular Sieves:
According to the problem statement, a packaged unit for drying ethanol with molecular sieves costs $2.5 million for a 34,000 lb/hr pure ethanol basis, with a scaling exponent of 0.6. Our flow rate of ethanol is 39,761.59 lb/hr so: 39,761.59 = 34,000 CP=$2,746,200
.
($2,500,000)
Incremental costs suggested by the problem statement are below: Incremental Electricity = (.002 kWhr/lb)*($.060/kWhr)*(39761.59 lb/hr) Incremental Electricity = $4.77139/hr
Incremental Steam =(.04lb/lb)*($3.00/1000lb)*( 39761.59 lb/hr) Incremental Steam =$4.77139/hr
Incremental Cooling Water = (3 gal/lb)*($.075/1000 gal)*( 39761.59 lb/hr) Incremental Cooling Water = $8.94636/hr
232
Pumps
Modeled as Centrifugal Pumps (Seider 506-514) Cp = (566/394)*(C pump + C motor) S=Q (H)0.5 Where S = Size Factor Q = flow rate through the pump (GPM) H = Pump head (ft) Pump head calculated from H=pressure rise/liquid density Where P= ( *g/gc* h)+ 172,500 Pa (corresponds to 25 psi drop across piping) For pumps with unknown ending fluid heights a pressure change corresponding to 50 psi was used. The pressure rise of the fluid entering the sterilizer heat exchanger network is 45 psi. All other pumps were put in place to continue fluid flow opposing frictional pipe wall forces rather than increasing fluid pressure for processing. Pump Cost, Cpump Cpump =FT FMCB FM =1 for carbon steel FT = 1 for 50-900 gpm, 50-400 ft Pump Head Or FT =2 for 250-5000 gpm , 50-500 ft Pump Head CB= exp{ 9.2951-0.06019*ln(S) + 0.0519*ln(S)2} Motor Cost, Cmotor Cmotor = FT CB FT = 1.8, for explosion proof enclosure 3600 rpm, 1-250 Hp CB = exp{ 5.4866 + 0.13141*ln(Pc) + 0.053255*ln(Pc)2 + 0.028628*ln(Pc)3 -0.0035549* ln(Pc)4} Pc, Power Consumption(Hp)=(QH )/(33,000pM) p, Fractional efficiency of pump=-0.316+0.24015*(lnQ)-0.01199*(ln Q)2 M,, Fractional Efficiency of motor=0.8+0.0319*lnPB -0.00182*ln (PB)2 PB=(QH )/(3300* p)
233
Pumps for Feed Preparation Section Pump Flow rate(L/hr) density of stream(kg/L) Height of column entering(m) density of stream(kg/m ) Pressure(Pa) (not incl. 25 psi drop) Head (Pa) Head (ft) Flow rate( gallons per min) S=Q(H^0.5) Cp PUMP (carbon steel, CE =394) Q (gpm) P density of stream (lb/gal) PB (Hp) B PC (Hp) Cb motor Cp motor (CE = 394) Cp total (motor + pump) (2009, For Guthrie )
3
P-FP-01 35,169.79 1.23 1233.16 0.00 28.55 93.64 154.85 1498.45 $2,140.70 154.85 0.59 10.29 7.66 0.82 9.34 $531.95 $957.51 $4,500
P-FP-02 151,104.80 1.00 2.06 1000.00 20201.73 37.23 122.11 665.31 7351.84 $3,133.98 665.31 0.74 8.35 27.82 0.83 33.68 $1,493.51 $2,688.32 $8,400
P-FP-03 927.42 1.00 2.06 1000.00 20201.73 19.64 64.43 4.08 32.78 $2,506.60 4.08 0.60 8.35 0.11 0.76 0.15 $177.28 $319.11 $4,100
P-FP-04 32,356.21 1.23 2.06 1233.16 24912.03 16.32 53.53 142.46 1042.28 $2,035.90 142.46 0.58 10.29 4.10 0.82 5.02 $377.58 $679.65 $3,900
P-FP-05 4,832.32 1.36 2.74 1359.00 36491.78 15.68 51.42 21.28 152.57 $1,960.30 21.28 0.31 11.34 1.23 0.80 1.53 $258.31 $464.96 $3,500
P-FP-06 185,192.86 1.04 6.51 1036.39 66221.38 40.45 132.66 815.40 9391.84 $3,401.86 815.40 0.76 8.65 37.55 0.83 45.43 $1,999.77 $3,599.59 $10,100
234
Pumps for Plant Seed Fermentation Train Pump Flow rate(L/hr) density of stream(kg/L) Height of column entering(m) density of stream(kg/m^3) Pressure(Pa) (not incl. 25 psi drop) Head=Total P /(density(m)*g) Head(ft) Flow rate( gallons per min) S=Q(H^0.5) Cp PUMP (CE=394, carbon steel) Q (gpm) P density of stream (lb/gal) PB (Hp) B PC (Hp) Cb motor Cp motor (CE = 394) CPB total (motor + pump) (2009) P-101 2600.02 1.03 1.01 1031.56 10182.64 18.05 59.21 11.45 88.09 $2080.71 11.45 0.20 8.61 0.89 0.80 1.12 $245.16 $441.29 $3,700 P-102 51950.00 1.04 2.84 1036.39 28879.87 19.81 64.97 228.74 1843.67 $2216.51 228.74 0.63 8.65 6.14 0.82 7.49 $465.16 $837.29 $4,400 P-103 62325.00 1.04 7.56 1036.39 76911.28 24.53 80.46 274.42 2461.55 $2344.10 274.42 0.65 8.65 8.84 0.82 10.76 $584.22 $1,051.60 $4,900 P-104 96683.00 1.04 14.90 1036.39 151526.37 31.87 104.53 425.70 4352.40 $2684.95 425.70 0.70 8.65 16.70 0.82 20.25 $945.74 $1,702.34 $6,400 P-105 2628.57 0.96 2.84 964.53 26877.22 21.07 69.11 11.57 96.22 $2056.53 11.57 0.20 8.05 0.97 0.80 1.22 $248.37 $447.07 $3,600 P-106 53349.40 0.96 7.56 963.45 71497.87 25.82 84.68 234.90 2161.52 $2283.39 234.90 0.64 8.04 7.60 0.82 9.26 $529.16 $952.49 $4,700 P-107 63293.21 0.96 14.90 964.52 141018.61 33.13 108.68 278.68 2905.25 $2430.02 278.68 0.66 8.05 11.26 0.82 13.68 $692.98 $1,247.36 $5,300
235
Pumps for Main Fermentation Section Pump Flow rate(L/hr) density of stream(kg/L) Height of column entering(m) density of stream(kg/m ) Pressure(Pa) (not incl. 25 psi drop) Head (Pa) Head(ft) Flow rate (gpm) S=Q(H^0.5) Cp PUMP (CE = 394, carbon steel) Q (gpm) P density of stream (lb/gal) PB (Hp) B PC (Hp) Cb motor Cp motor (CE = 394) Cp total (motor + pump) (2009 For Guthrie)
3
P-FA 300,300.00 1.04 21.68 1,036.39 220,390.93 38.64 126.75 1,322.22 14,886.07 $8,074.50 1,322.22 0.79 8.65 55.56 0.83 67.22 $2,984.15 $5,371.47 $19,400
P-FB 2,820.06 0.96 21.68 964.62 205,127.74 39.91 130.89 12.42 142.06 $1,972.05 12.42 0.21 8.05 1.86 0.81 2.31 $283.85 $510.93 $3,600
P-FC 1,525,403.90 0.96 7.81 964.55 73,899.70 26.04 85.41 1,343.27 12,414.37 $7,527.03 1,343.27 0.79 8.05 35.35 0.83 42.77 $1,883.37 $3,390.07 $15,700
P-FD 178,734.19 0.96 -964.55 172,500.00 36.46 119.59 786.97 8,606.11 $3,301.40 786.97 0.75 8.05 30.52 0.83 36.94 $1,631.59 $2,936.87 $9,000
P-FE 25,423.40 0.96 21.68 964.55 205112.2995 18.23045187 59.79588214 111.94 865.601352 $3,989.62 111.94 0.55 8.05 3.58 0.81 4.39 $329.71 $593.49 $6,600
236
Pumps for Separation Section Pump Flow rate(L/hr) density of stream(kg/L) Height of column entering(m) 3 density of stream(kg/m ) Pressure(Pa) (not incl. 25 psi drop) Head (Pa) Head(ft) Flow rate( gpm) S=Q(H^0.5) Cp PUMP (CE =394) Carbon Steel Q (gpm) P density of stream (lb/gal) PB (Hp) B PC (Hp) Cb motor Cp motor (CE = 394) Cp total (motor + pump) (2009, for Guthrie) P-S-101 174,995.04 0.98 49.37 979 474,503 67.33 220.83 770.50 11,450.12 $3,651.88 770.50 0.75 8.17 56.16 0.83 67.95 $3,018.12 $5,432.61 $13,100 35.01 114.85 795.00 8,519.70 $3,290.16 795.00 0.75 8.39 30.83 0.83 37.31 $1,647.57 $2,965.63 $9,000 31.05 103.22 178.88 1,819.64 $2,211.35 178.88 0.61 9.31 8.60 0.82 10.47 $573.60 $1,032.48 $4,700 1005 1,118 P-S-102 180,599 1.00 P-S-104 42,441.20 1.12 P-S-105 29,396.57 0.96 49.37 958 464,435 67.78 222.34 129.43 1,929.98 $2,234.96 129.43 0.57 8.00 12.28 0.82 14.91 $739.38 $1,330.88 $5,200 P-S-106 205,879.00 0.80 49.38 803 388,922 71.35 234.03 906.49 13,867.49 $3,926.21 906.49 0.70 6.70 56.43 0.83 68.28 $3,033.11 $5,459.60 $13,500 35.02 114.88 1,02465 3,596.49 $7,192.98 1,024.65 0.77 8.38 38.69 0.83 46.81 $2,060.47 $3,708.85 $15,700 1,004 P-S-107 223,070.46 1.00 P-S-108 27,022.50 1.00 15.25 1000 149602 32.87 107.81 118.98 1,235.36 $2,080.77 118.98 0.56 8.35 5.81 0.82 7.10 $451.25 $812.24 $7,200
237
Reflux Accumulator:
Reflux accumulators should be designed with mean residence times of 5 min at half full (Seider) so: Volumetric flow rate =165,300 L/hr Volume of Reflux Accumulator= (165,300 L/hr)*(1 hr/60 min)*(5 min)*(2)*( 0.0353146667 ft3/L) V= 606 ft3 Furthermore, it is typical to design reflux accumulators as horizontal vessels with an aspect ratio of 2, so: D=2L, or L = D/2. =
D = 11.6 ft L = 5.8 ft ts = 0.5 in
The weight follows the vessel costing of the distillation column (see section for D-1) W = 2,596 lbs Cost for Horizontal vessel (Seider 527), FM = 1 for Carbon Steel = exp [8.717 0.2330 ln( ) + 0.04333(ln( ))] = = 1580( ) 566 [ 394
.
CPB (2009) = $47,000
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Rotary Drum Vacuum Filter:

Mass flow rate of solids in (S-S-109) (CSL is 50% solids) Total mass flow rate = 296 kg/hr biomass + (0.5)(927.39 kg/hr CSL) = 0.082244 kg/s biomass + 0.1288 kg/s CSL solids = 0.21105 kg/s (mass flow rate solids only) = 47.88 kg/s (total solution) (0.44 wt % solids)
Area of Rotary Drum Vacuum Filter (Ulrich 222 Table 4-23) based on mass flow rate of solids in kg/s: ( )= 0.02 A = 10.55 m2 = 113.58 ft2 Power consumption range based on area (Ulrich): ( )=
.
P = 5.85 kW to 11.71 kW. Average = 8.78 kW = 11.777 HP
Cost of Rotary Drum Vacuum Filter (Seader 555) based on A, the filtration area in ft2.
= CP(2009) = $ 184,400
566 exp [11.432 0.1905 ln( ) + 0.0554(ln( )) ] 394
Cake leaving is typically 70% solids. 90% of solids from stream are removed. (Ulrich) These assumptions used to determine the mass flow rates of the cake and filtrate leaving the filter. Diatomaceous Earth Filter Pre-coat Considerations (Schweitzer 4-13, 4-48): Recommendation of Filter Pre-coat material Diatomaceous Earth (DE) Pre-coat lasts 2-4 days = 72 hours average Plant operational for 330 days/yr* 24 hours/ day = 7920 hr/yr Pre-coat thickness = 3 5 inches = 4 inches average DE requirement = 2 lb/ ft2-in Cost of DE = $ 0.15 / lb = 2 (4 )(113.6 ) 1 72 7920 1 = 99,968 /
99,968 lb DE/yr * $0.15 /lb = $15,000 / yr for Diatomaceous Earth pre-coat.
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Screw Conveyor:
After drying, the stream of succinic acid crystals (463.39 kg/hr) must be transported into the holding tank at a height of 12 feet at a 30 degree angle, yielding a 24 foot long conveyor. Cost equation: (Seider 554) 566 = $55.6( )( ) . 394 Where D is in inches and L is in feet. The smallest Diameter system is 6 inches, which can handle up to 75 ft3/hr, is sufficient for this. CP (2009) = $ 12,500.60 For the drive and power requirements (Seider 548): Where is in lb/s and h is in ft. = 0.0146( )
.
+ 0.00182( )()
= (463.39 kg/hr)*(2.2 lb/kg)/(3600 s/hr) = 0.283183 lb/s P= 0.126085 Hp, rounded up to a 1 Hp motor (Seider 510) = exp [5.4866 + 0.1314 ln( ) + 0.053255(ln( )) + 0.028628((ln( )) 0.0035549((ln( )) ]
CB=$ 241.43 CP=FT*CB Ft=1.3 (from Table 16.22 Seider for 1800 rpm totally enclosed fan cooled motors between 1 & 250Hp) CP=$ 313.86 CP(2009) = $ 313.86/394*566 CP(2009) = $ 450.88 CPB(2009) Total (Motor + conveyor) = $ 13,000
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Spray Nozzles for Clean-In-Place System

As per recommendations by industrial consultant Mr. Bruce Vrana, spray nozzles will be purchased to supply caustic to the large fermenter tanks for the Clean-In-Place system. Mr. Vrana recommends purchasing spray nozzles from supplier Gammajet, at $10,000 per nozzle. His recommendation is 4 nozzles per 2,000,000 L tank, for a total of 48 nozzles in the main fermentation section. Additionally, the largest seed fermenters Seed Ferm 7A/B will use 3 nozzles per tank, for a total of 6 spray nozzles.
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Storage, Mixing, and Holding Tanks

All Storage Tanks: Height: Diameter Aspect Ratio = 1:3. T-110 has Height: Diameter Aspect Ratio of 2:1 (Solids contained) Crude Glycerol Storage Tank (T-101), Corn Steep Liquor Storage Tank (T-103), and Gasoline Storage Tank (T-109) and hold a 3 -day supply of feedstock. Brine Storage Tank (T-104) has a one day supply. Denatured Ethanol Holding Tank (T-111) holds a 3 day supply of product (Seider). Succinic Acid Holding Tank (T-110) holds a 3 day supply of product. All tanks have a working volume of 80%. Mixing Tank (T-105) has a residence time of 10 minutes. Mixing Tank (T-108) has a residence time of 10 minutes. Mixing tanks have a working volume of 50%. Intermediate holding tanks between the continuous and batch processes: T-106 volume calculation: (Amount of feed required for initializing one batch) + (Amount of feed entering tank continuously x time for charging fermenter with feed Amount of feed leaving during charging) / 0.8 (for 80 % working volume) Or volumes from stream tables: [(S-S-115) + (S-FP-112 x 5 S-S-115) ]/0.8 T-107 volume calculation: (Amount of feed from one FERM1 tank) + (Amount of feed from one FERM1 tank - Amount of feed leaving tank continuously x amount of time for draining tank) / 0.8 (for 80 % working volume) Or volumes from stream tables: [(S-S-137) + (S-S-137 S-140 x 5)]/0.8 T-101, T-106, T-107, T-108, T-109, T-111 modeled as a Floating Roof Tank (Volatiles) T-103, T-104, T-105, T-110 modeled as Cone Roof Tank (Non-volatiles) Floating Roof Tanks (Seider 555) with V in gallons : Cp= (566/394)*375*V0.51 Cone Roof Tanks (Seider 555) with V in gallons : Cp= (566/394)*210*V0.51
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Floating Roof Storage Tanks T-101 Volume(L) Volume(gal) Volume (m3) Diameter (m) Height(m) Cp (2009) 3,165,281.51 836,178.75 3,165.28 22.95 7.65 $564,600 T-106 1,157,455.63 305,700.91 1,157.46 5.47 16.41 $338,000 T-107 3,370,526.25 890,205.14 3,370.53 23.44 7.81 $582,900 T-108 7,619.58 2,012.88 7.60 3.07 1.02 $26,800 T-109 41,145.75 10,869.55 41.15 5.40 1.80 $101,000 T-111 2,057,287.39 543,477.73 2,057.29 19.88 6.62 $453,300
Cone Roof Storage Tanks T-103 Volume(L) Volume(gal) Volume(m ) Diameter(m) Height(m) Cp
3
T-104 144,969.67 38,296.93 144.97 8.21 2.74 $65,700
T-105 61,730.95 16,307.59 61.73 6.18 2.06 $42,500
T-110 26,477.50 6994.61 26.47 19.88 1.04 $27,600
83,467.68 22,049.82 83.47 6.83 2.28 $49,600
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Appendix C.
R-101 Glycerol Purification System Patent Application
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Appendix D.
Glycerol Purification System Supplier Information
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Appendix D. Glycerol Purification System Supplier Information, from website for EET Corporation EET's glycerol purification process, based on its patented and patents pending HEED processes and equipment, is the economical solution for the purification of glycerol streams derived from the biodiesel industry (read more about biodiesel production) and from soap production by saponification. With EET technology, biodiesel-derived and saponification -produced glycerol can be refined up to quality requirements of USP grade* 99.7. Alternately, lower cost, intermediate purity grades can be produced for direct use, subsequent chemical conversion into other compounds such as propylene glycol, or further purification with evaporation or distillation. The EET membrane-based technology avoids many of the issues associated with standalone evaporation and distillation such as foaming, carryover of contaminants, corrosion, limited recovery, and high capital, energy, maintenance and operating costs. The robustness of the process allows the EET technology to be applied prior to or after methanol removal for biodiesel-produced crude, over a range of feed compositions. In particular, it can purify:

Neutralized glycerol streams containing methanol (before methanol stripping) Neutralized glycerol streams from which methanol has been stripped Refined glycerol streams which have been distilled or evaporated but still contain residual salts and organics and require further treatment
EET's glycerin purification process begins with pretreatment of the glycerol to remove any solids and fouling organics and partially remove color-causing organics. The HEED or HEEPM system configuration is used, with customized automated controls and control logic, providing optimal desalting of the preatreated crude glycerol. The result is a colorless liquid with low salt content. Specifications
Available for licensing in capacities from 1,000 to 200,000 gallons glycerol feed per day (3.8 to 760 cubic meters per day; 3 million to 730 million pounds per year) USP 99.7 production rates from 850 to 170,000 gallons per day (3.2 to 644 cubic meters per day; 3 million to 620 million pounds per year) Feed TDS up to 12 wt% Feed temperatures to 35C (95F) using standard system components Feed pH 3 to 7 Up to 99+% glycerol recovery, depending on feed composition and end product characteristics
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial Key Features

Proven technology with full-scale installations currently in operation High recoveries with much lower capital and operating costs compared to other technologies Salt removal to specified levels, including to USP glycerol, with the system able to adapt to changing feed supply contaminant types and concentrations Robust unit operation(s) for removal of Free Fatty Acids (FFAs), Matter Organic Not Glycerol (MONG), organic acids, color and odor Modular systems, easily scaleable to increase capacity Semi-automated system easy to use and control Minimum downtime required (typically 23+ operating hours per day) Nonhazardous side streams consisting of dry filter cake and aqueous brine solution for easy disposal
Space, Utility, and Tank Requirements
The space/footprint needed will depend on the overall production capacity, feed chemistry, and product characteristics. In general, the process equipment requires only a fraction of the space of storage tanks for feed and product. For example, processing equipment with work tanks for a 10 million pound/year (~2,500 gpd) plant producing USP 99.7 grade glycerol using typical chloride containing crude feed will occupy about 7,000 square feet, while the actual process equipment will occupy only about 1,000 square feet (see EET facility photos) Three-phase 480V electrical utility preferred; three-phase 230V or single-phase 110V acceptable for some size units Process air Softened, de-chlorinated make-up water (or tap water with <3 ppm free chlorine) Appropriate feed, product, and brine concentrate tanks and lines to and from these to the working tanks of the EET-supplied systems
Maintenance Maintenance requirements for the EET glycerol purification system are minimal. Depending on feed characteristics, periodic cleaning, typically <1 hour per day, is required. Although each installation and application will vary, installed units have been in operation for over 5 years with no change in HEED membrane stack and no major component (e.g., pumps, rectifier, controls) replacement. By-products of Glycerol Purification

Concentrated brine stream, typically dischargeable as sanitary wastes (check with your local regulators) A dry solid waste (nonhazardous) passing the paint filter test (no free liquids). The amount of solid waste will depend on the amount of MONG and FFAs in the biodiesel-derived glycerol Small amounts of hydrogen and oxygen gas, which are typically vented to atmosphere
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Appendix E.
Carbon Dioxide Cap and Trade Legislation
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Appendix E. Carbon Dioxide Cap and Trade Legislation Cap and Trade Pending Legislation The idea behind Cap and Trade programs is that each company, power plant, or other largescale carbon emitter will be able to reduce carbon emissions at different rates. Each will be given a capped amount of carbon it can emit. Over time, the caps get stricter and stricter until the ultimate emissions goals are reached. Since some carbon emitters will be able to reduce emissions more easily and cheaply than others, those that can reduce to levels below their specified caps can sell on the open market, carbon allowances to emitters that cannot meet their specified levels. This is trade part of the system. The 110th US Congress, which was in session in 2007 and 2008, introduced a flurry of proposals to address climate change, 235 pieces in total. By the end of January 2008, seven main congressional bills addressed carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of methods. All set goals for at least slowing the rate of emissions to the atmosphere. The Pew Center on Global Climate Change summed up each of these bills and created a chart of what effects on emissions these bills would have if each of their goals were met (Pew), which is Fig CT-1 below.
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Figure CT-2. The Pew Center on Global Climate Change summary of congressional bills. Graph shows what effects on Carbon Dioxide emissions these bills would have if each of their goals were met
The most radical of these plans is the Sanders-Boxer/ Waxman proposal (s.309), an amendment to the Clean Air Act, which calls for a steady 2% reduction in emissions year-on-year, so that by 2050 total emissions will be reduced 80% from their 1990 value. This plan does not require Cap and Trade, but allows for systems of cap and trade to exist to assist in meeting the goals. The amendment also did not specify which sectors the caps would be placed on, instead just listing total national goals. This amendment never came up for a vote, and expired when the 110th Congress did last year (Gov Track). Many of the other plans drafted called for slightly less reduction. The Lieberman-Warner (s.2191) bill, called for caps to be auctioned off on the open market and gave incentives for carbon sequestering, and the Olver-Gilchrest (H.R. 620) bill would have provided for a step-down approach to limiting emissions(Gov Track). The bills set target years for emissions to be reduced to certain levels, and had no specifications on reduction in between these target years. The Lieberman-Warner bill reached
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LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial the committee phase, but no further action was taken; the Olver-Gilchrest bill did not even make it to committee(Gov Track). The one proposed bill that took on the issue slightly differently was Spector-Bingham (s.1766) The bill calls for a reduction back to 1990 emissions levels by 2030, primarily through Cap and Trade. The bill has many incentives for research, including special carbon capture allocations and funding for green research. The bill also gives the President the power to set the goals to a more aggressive level, up to 60% below 1990 levels by 2050, in the event that international regulations or actions change over this time period. The bill did not make it past introduction. In short, it seems to be a few years before the Cap and Trade system will be applied within the United States.
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Appendix F.
Problem Statement
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Glycerol to Ethanol (recommended by Bruce Vrana, DuPont) Glycerol is a byproduct of biodiesel manufacture, with relatively few industrial uses. As the production of biodiesel increases, particularly in Europe due to government regulations but also in the U.S. due to public demand for renewable fuels, the price of glycerol is expected to continue to decrease. Your research organization has recently isolated a naturally occurring E. coli, code-named Penn09, that will ferment glycerol to ethanol and a small amount of succinic acid. Ethanol is in high demand for transportation fuel, and succinic acid is a high-value specialty chemical. You have been asked to determine whether this technology could be commercially successful, using the following assumptions, determined by your research director. You need to design a plant that will make 50MM gallons per year of fuel ethanol using this technology and estimate the economics. Crude glycerol is a good substrate for this strain of E. coli. The salts in the glycerol contain all the nutrients that the organism needs to survive and reproduce. The fermentation is anaerobic, and the overall reactions can be written as: CH2OH-CHOH-CH2OH CH3-CH2OH + CO2 + H2 Glycerol Ethanol (2) (1)
CH2OH-CHOH-CH2OH + CO2 HOOC-CH2-CH2-COOH + H20 Glycerol Succinic acid
Assume that 98% of the glycerol is converted in reaction 1, 1% of the glycerol is converted in reaction 2, and 1% is converted to biomass. The overall reaction rate is 1.6 g EtOH formed/L of reaction volume/hour. Feed only enough glycerol to the batch fermenter to reach a final ethanol titer of 100 g/L. Sterility in the fermentation area is a significant concern. Suitable measures must be taken to ensure that no adventitious organisms enter the process, eating feedstock and generating undesired products. Everything entering the fermenter must be sterile, except of course for the innoculum.
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The organism is a naturally occurring strain that poses no known hazards to humans and thus is less stringently regulated than if it were genetically modified. Nonetheless, it would be prudent to design facilities to physically contain the live organism. Prior to removal from containment, the organism must be deactivated or killed and then disposed of properly. Landfill is adequate for final disposal. Likewise, operating vents and spills that could contain the live organism are to be contained and treated. The operating vent could be treated with a scrubber using a low concentration of bleach. Spills could be sent to a tank and heated to sterilization temperature prior to discharge. Also fed to the fermenters is your E. coli inoculum, which you produce in a separate seed fermentation train. The biochemistry of the organism is outside the scope of this project. Fortunately, your research organization has developed a simple scenario for your use. The organism will come from 1 ml vials stored in a freezer on site. It will be grown in successive stages each 20 times the size of the prior stage, each stage taking 24 hours.* After 24 hours, it is put in the next larger vessel along with water and a sugar source. If you use less than a 20 X factor for any stage of fermentation, you must still allow 24 hours for that stage of fermentation to take place. 10 liters is the largest stage that can be grown in the lab before transferring to the first seed fermenter in the plant. Lab scale fermentations will use clean glycerol and other nutrients, the cost of which can be ignored for this evaluation, along with the cost of the initial vial of organism. (Note, however, that the vials do have a cost, so you may only use one vial per production fermenter batch.) Once the laboratory-produced seed is taken to the plant seed fermentation train, each stage of seed fermentation will be fed with plant water and enough glycerol to produce the maximum titer of 100 g/L ethanol before transfer to the next larger seed fermenter, or ultimately the production fermenter(s). Your material and energy balance should include the amount of water and glycerol fed to the plant seed train. Fermentation is the only batch step in the process. Your design must consider how to best match up fermentation with the continuous back end of the plant. A Gantt chart may be helpful to illustrate the filling, fermentation, emptying and cleaning process for however many production and seed fermenters your design employs. Fermentation off-gas will, unlike in ethanol plants, contain a significant amount of hydrogen, as shown in the stoichiometry above. Your design needs to handle this stream in a safe, environmentally acceptable and economical manner before discharge to the atmosphere. You may assume a slight positive pressure in the fermenters, say 5 inches of water gauge, which will help keep the fermentation anaerobic.
*This 24 hour time period was found to be in disagreement with the calculated 60 hr period using the given growth rate and end ethanol concentration, so this 24-hour time period was ignored at the later suggestion of Mr. Vrana.
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Downstream of fermentation, it is expected that this process will have many similarities to the fuel ethanol process used in the U.S. and Brazil. Should you wish to use the fuel ethanol industry process standard for drying ethanol from near the azeotrope to 99.5% purity, molecular sieves, you need to know that regeneration of the molecular sieves requires recycling 20% of the dry ethanol product back to the sieves. This regeneration stream, which on average contains 37% water after leaving the molecular sieves, must then be recycled back to your separation process. The composition of the regeneration stream varies with time, so your design should take that into consideration. A brief, but informative, discussion of the ethanol molecular sieve process is contained in Aden et al. (2002). A packaged unit for drying ethanol with molecular sieves costs $2.5 million to process 34,000 lb/hr on a pure ethanol basis. The feed is saturated vapor at 1 atm, 92% ethanol, 8% water by weight. The products are saturated liquid at 1 atm. Scale the cost with a 0.6 exponent. Electrical usage is 0.002 kWhr/lb of product. Steam usage is 0.04 lb/lb of product for additional heating. Cooling water usage is 3 gal/lb of product. Since this is a packaged unit, it includes local piping, instrumentation, etc. and thus should have different installation factors than most other purchased equipment. Ethanol must be denatured on site with 2-5% by volume of unleaded gasoline, to conform to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regulations (preventing human consumption of untaxed alcohol). Prior to denaturing, it must be 99.5% pure ethanol. Corrosion and cleanliness dictate that most process equipment be fabricated from 304 stainless steel. This holds for any equipment that contains water. Exceptions include corn silos, product storage tanks, and any distillation or other separation systems that contain less than 1% water, which may use carbon steel. Since your product is intended for transportation fuel use, it is imperative that the process be as energy efficient as possible. The current benchmark for energy use in a fuel ethanol plant is about 35,000 BTU/gallon of product. (This is calculated as the amount of heat and electricity needed by the process, not the amount of fuel consumed in the boiler.) You should certainly be able to surpass that benchmark, due to differences in the process. The plant design should be as environmentally friendly as possible. Recover and recycle process materials to the maximum economic extent. Also, energy consumption should be minimized, to the extent economically justified. The plant design must also be controllable and safe to operate. Remember that you will be there for the start-up and will have to live with whatever design decisions you have made.
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Your purchasing organization believes that the equilibrium price for byproduct glycerol is $0.15/lb, delivered to your U. S. Gulf Coast plant. Your marketing organization believes they can sell denatured ethanol for $2.50/gal. Succinic acid can be sold for $2.00/lb provided it meets normal purity specs. Unleaded regular gasoline used for denaturing costs $2.50/gallon wholesale. All prices referenced here are in 2009 dollars. Obviously, you will want to test the sensitivity of your economics to these price forecasts. Undoubtedly, you will need additional data beyond that given here. Cite any literature data used. If need be, make reasonable assumptions, state them, and whether your design or economics are sensitive to the assumptions you have made. References The Renewable Fuels Association web site has a good description of the fuel ethanol process and industry. http://www.ethanolrfa.org A good model for much of the dry grind ethanol process is discussed on http://www.intelligen.com/literature.shtml which links to a paper by Kwiatkowski et al. This includes a SUPERPRO DESIGNER model that works with their evaluation version of the software. Note, however, that SUPERPRO DESIGNER does not handle VLE rigorously and thus is not suitable for designing this process. Dharmadi, Y., A. Murarka, and R. Gonzalez, Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol by Escherichia coli: A New Platform for Metabolic Engineering, Wiley InterScience, 5/20/2006 contains a description of the biochemistry in a similar organism. Aden, A., et al., Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Corn Stover, NREL/TP510-32438 (2002).
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Appendix G.
Relevant MSDS
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Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol To Ethanol

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Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Senior Design Reports (CBE)

Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol to Ethanol

This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/cbe sdr/5

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Anaerobic Fermentation of Glycerol to Ethanol

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

B. Importance for the Study

Fig IS-1: Consumption of Refined Glycerol by Country(SRI)

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

C. Initial Project Charter

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Market and Competitive Analysis

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Ethanol Correlation vs Actual

2.5 Price $ per gallon

3.5 P ric e$ per g allon 3

P redic ted G as and E thanol P ric es from C orrelations

G as E thanol 2015 Yea r 2020 2025

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Process Flowsheets and Material Balances

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

927.42 191932.67 927.42 185192.86

Molar components (kmol/hr)

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Molar components (kmol/hr)

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Molar components (mol/batch)

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Table PD-2. Schedule for Batch Operation in Main Fermentation Section

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Energy Balance and Benchmark

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Equipment HX-2 Total:

Equipment HX-6 MS-1 Total:

Equipment HX-4 HX-5 MS-1 HX-FERM Total:

23.77 447.32 21.00

$0.02 $0.02 $0.02 $0.02

cost/hr $21.76 $0.48 $8.95 $0.42

$172,318.61 $3,764.55 $70,855.17 $2,015.78 $248,954.11

Equipment HX-FERM Total:

LeGendre, Logan, Mendel, Seedial

Table E-2. Energy Utility Requirements for the Process.